Chandigarh, July 12 - Bhima Devi Museum, one of the oldest and only one of its kind open air museum, in the Pinjore town in Haryana will be opened for public Monday.

Kiran Choudhry, minister of state for tourism, told reporters here Sunday: 'Bhima Devi temple, a ninth century temple, was earlier known as Bhim Nagar. This area had faced numerous invasions in the past and it is believed that in 1661, a governor of the Mughal empire demolished this temple completely.'

'Now it has been renovated into a world class ancient museum. The central government had provided Rs.7.8 million (Rs.77.82 lakh) and the archaeology department of Haryana had sanctioned Rs.8.2 million (Rs.82.15 lakh) for the development of this museum,' she added.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will inaugurate this museum Monday in Pinjore, around 30 km from Chandigarh.