KOCHI: After years of deliberations, hiccups and inter-departmental tangles, the heritage tramway museum at Chalakudy sees the light at the end of the tunnel. Around 50 cents of land including the area where the old tramway workshop is located have been allotted to the Department of Cultural Affairs for setting up the museum.
A pet project of Chalakudy MLA B D Devassy, it was first proposed in 2007. “I have been working hard to see the project become a reality since 2007. To let something that was a part of the history of Kerala go waste is inconceivable,” Devassy said. It is a part of the heritage of Chalakudy, he said. The proposal was submitted to the government in 2014.
“The Department of Cultural Affairs then granted the Archeology Department permission to start the preliminary work for the proposed museum. However, after a few meetings that were held with various stakeholders, the project didn’t make any headway,” he said. Zeroing on a suitable site for the museum posed a big problem. “There were even some issues regarding the collection of the remnants of the tramway from inside Parambikulam forest. But all that has been solved and the Forest Department is ready to hand over the relics to the Archeology Department which is the implementing agency of the project,” said the MLA. According to him, the only issue that remains now is funding.
“The director of the Archeology Department, chief engineer and other officers will be visiting the site for the proposed museum on August 12. An estimate of the funds required for the renovation of the old tramway workshop will be arrived at only after the site inspection,” said Devassy.
“I have decided to not wait for the funds to be made available by the department which is already cash-strapped. I am planning to start the renovation works by sourcing money from my MLA fund,” he said.