Alappuzha, the Venice of the East, is going to have a port-museum at the beach, depicting the city’s glorious history and heritage. Primary discussions regarding the museum master plan has been conducted at the Alappuzha port office. Ramachandran Kadannappally, Minister for Ports and Museums, inaugurated the function. The meeting was presided by Thomas Issac, Finance Minister of Kerala.
The new initiative is part of the comprehensive programmes to make Alappuzha the heritage tourism city of Kerala. The roads and bridges to the city will be revamped as part of the project. There will be walkways and cycle tracks along the lake side. Construction of Alappuzha Mobility Hub along the KSRTC bus station, reinstating the waterways, cleaning the city etc., will also be carried out as part of the project.
Old port office, Alappuzha
As part of the heritage conservation project, 50 old mansions will be preserved. Twenty out of these buildings will be converted to museums. These will be themed museums based on specific subjects. Financial and commercial institutions will be part of these museums.
The main attraction of the heritage conservation project will be the port museum. It will narrate the history of the port; its inception and growth as a port city will be visualized in the museum. Though some of the historical evidence has been lost, efforts will be taken to recreated them in the museum.
Alappuzha sea bridge
Old Alappuzha sea bridge will also be reinstated as part of the project. There were suggestions in the meeting to include the details of groups who have visited Alappuzha for trading purposes in olden days.
There will be a designated area for illustrating the information of employees of the old port, who are still alive. It was suggested to showcase their experiences in the port, along with photos and videos.
Old sailing ships
One of the attractions of the museum will be models of the ships and boats those have visited Alappuzha in olden days. Arabian style boats, Portuguese, Dutch and English model triremes and galleys, old and new ship models etc. will be showcased in the museum. There will be a ship anchored near the sea bridge permanently for the visitors. All types of shipping boats and equipment those have been used in Alappuzha will be exhibited in the museum.
There are a number of films shot at Alappuzha showing the scenic beauty of the beach and the sea bridge. The authorities plan to present the significant portions of such films in a room. It is expected that a substantial portion of the museum will be completed by March 2019.
