The purpose of the Muziris Heritage Project (MHP) is to attract students and researchers from all over the world for academic work and tourism is a spin-off, maintains Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, who had announced the project in his budget speech in 2006 and steered it in its initial years.
While the MHP Company looked after the administrative side of the project, the research institute that would be operational at Kodungalloor as originally planned would function as an autonomous body promoting cultural and heritage research on Kerala. “Our aim is to build it in such a manner that it should be the go-to-place for studying Kerala’s history, society, environment and cultural heritage,” said Dr. Isaac in an exclusive chat with The Hindu.
“Over the years, the project had dragged on and there were deviations from the original plan, with the MHP’s positioning as a vital locale in the erstwhile spice route and its connect with the public falling through. Steps are being taken to re-establish these as also to redo in the right manner work that’s gone awry. Work on all museums along the circuit will be completed at the earliest,” he said.
Dr. Isaac said the green heritage project would take special care not to congest the region with tourists. The waterway would be the prime route with hop-on, hop-off boats operating for visitors’ convenience. “Those arriving in private vehicles would have to park either at Paravur or Kodungalloor where an arrangement would be done for them to board the official vehicle for the tour.”
A participatory conservation project, it would have to also reconnect with the people of the region and reintegrate them into the scheme of things, he said.
