Once a bustling maritime town on the west coast and now a global houseboat tourism hub, Alappuzha will have a Labour Movement Museum showcasing the fascinating history of the world labour movement and the struggles of workers in the State.
The museum, the first of its kind in the country, is being set up under the Alappuzha Heritage Tourism Project at the New Model Cooperative Society Limited. It will display documents and exhibits that shaped the labour movements across the continents and impacted Alappuzha, the cradle of the labour movement in the country in particular and the State in general. Two coir museums are also being renovated under the project.
The project is being executed by Muziris Project Limited.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the Alappuzha Heritage Tourism project had been conceived to showcase the legacy of Alappuzha before tourists. “They will also serve scholars specialising in commercial and labour-related topics,” he added.
The renovation of two coir museums — Yarn Museum and Living Coir Museum — is in the final stages, Tourism Principal Secretary Rani George said.
Yarn Museum, being readied at the Darragh Ismail Factory, will display the production of yarn, besides the processes such as the making of twine and spinning of twine into spools and spindles. Kerala State Coir Corporation Ltd building, formerly run by the Volkart Brothers, will be the Museum of Coir History.
Port Museum, coming up in a ten-acre land adjoining the Port Office, will give a vivid idea of Alappuzha’s commercial links with the world outside through the sea. The conservation of the old Port Office and the adjacent godowns is in progress.
The city is also getting its past glory restored through the renovation of centuries-old buildings situated west of the Circular Canal and the Commercial Canal, Tourism Director P. Balakiran said.
Nurturing of the Miyawaki forest, pier restoration, Naval Signal Museum, and improvement of canals, Gandhi Museum, Leo XIII School, Saukar Masjid, Gujarati Heritage Centre, and Makham Masjid are also progressing as part of the heritage project, he added.
