PESHAWAR, July 11: The NWFP archaeology and museums department has purchased the historic Sethi House in the provincial capital and it will soon be opened for visitors.

The department planned to start preservation work on the house, purchased for Rs15.3 million a few days back, said provincial Culture Secretary Abdul Jalil Khan.

About Rs3 million would be initially spent on renovation, he said.

“An ethnological museum will be set up in the Sethi House to display local artefacts,” he said.

The government would also set up an art gallery to display works of contemporary painters, said Hazara University Vice-Chancellor Dr Ihsan Ali, who is a member of the Sethi House project committee. The house should be opened for visitors as soon as possible, he said.

There was no professional conservator in the NWFP and it had been suggested that assistance would be sought from the Punjab archaeology department to conserve the monument, he said.