India's first Labour Movement museum to come up in Kerala

The country's first Labour MovementMuseum, showcasing the history of world labour movement, wouldbe launched in Kerala's houseboat tourism hub, Alappuzha.

The museum will feature a huge repository of documentsand exhibits that shaped the labour movements across thecontinents and impacted Alappuzha, the cradle of the labourmovement in the country, in particular and Kerala in general,state Tourism department said on Sunday.

Located alongside the Port and Coir museums displayingthe town's rich maritime heritage, the Labour Movement Museum,the first such window in the country on the class struggle andspirited fight of workers, is part of a larger project thatwill also be of tourist appeal, it said in a release.

The museum would be launched as part of the LDFgovernment's second 100-day programme.

''The New Model Cooperative Society Limited, previouslyrun by the Bombay Company, has been converted into the LabourMovement Museum.

It will portray, through pictures, documents and otherexhibits, the growth of the world labour movement and thehistory of Keralas labour movement'', the tourism departmentsaid.

Packed with history predating the advent of the Westerncolonialism, Alappuzha had a virtual monopoly over theproduction and shipping of coir made of coconut husk, aproduct that had immense global demand.

''Besides its unsurpassed natural beauty, Alappuzha has arich commercial and maritime heritage dating back to theancient times and connected to distant lands.

The Alappuzha Heritage Tourism project is conceived tobring this legacy before tourists, in which these museums areimportant components.

They will also serve scholars specializing in thecommercial and labour- related topics,'' Tourism MinisterKadakampally Surendran said.

The Museums will open as soon as the restoration ofheritage structures is complete.

Kerala State Coir Corporation Ltd building, formerly runby the Volkart Brothers, will become the Museum of CoirHistory.

With an outlay of Rs 9.95 crores, 97 per cent ofrenovation works in this museum is complete.

The Port Museum gives a vivid idea of Alappuzhascommercial links with the world outside through the sea.

The conservation of the old Port Office and the adjacentgodowns is in progress.

Nearly 90 per cent of the works of Rs 4.63 crore PortOffice refurbishment is complete.

Nurturing of the Miyawaki forest, pier restoration, NavalSignal Museum and the improvement of the canals, GandhiMuseum, Saukar Masjid, Makham Masjid renovation are alsoprogressing as part of the heritage project, the TourismDepartment said.

The places of worship in the town, factories andhistorical buildings will be part of the project.

Noted conservation architect Dr Benny Kuriakose isleading the restoration works.