Chandran said that as part of the park’s expansion, a five-star riverside resort would come up on the land adjacent to the park and an ayurvedic rejuvenation centre would be set up too. The park has a rain harvesting system that can store 500 lakh litres of water. But that wouldn’t be enough to operate the planned 13 rides a day through the year.
And that won’t be enough for the CPI-M to fight back allegations of water exploitation. The party had led an agitation against Coca-Cola’s plant in Palakkad over alleged exploitation of water. It’s no easy ride.

OTHER VENTURES
Kerala State Rubber Co-operative Limited (Rubco): Headquartered in Kannur, Rubco, which began with an investment of Rs 280 crore in 1997, has CPI-M-controlled district co-operative banks as major stakeholders. It manufactures rubber-based products for domestic as well as foreign markets. The cooperative is planning a Rs 50-crore expansion. Its chairman E. Narayanan said a sports shoe factory and a unit for processing rubber for tyres would soon be added to the Rubco family.
Thalassery Medical Foundation Limited (TMFL): Another co-operative venture floated by the CPI-M in Kannur. The 250-bedded super-specialty hospital has E. Narayanan as the chairman. Though the party is opposed to self-financing colleges, TMFL runs a self-financing nursing college. Narayanan and his fellow comrades have also constructed a shopping mall worth Rs 10 crore under the aegis of TMFL. The EMS Memorial Co-operative Hospital in Perinthalmanna, North Kerala, and the AP Varkey Mission Hospital in Cochin are the party’s healthcare ventures in the co-operative sector.
Tourism: Taking cue from comrades in Kannur, party leaders in Kozhikode have floated the Kozhikode District Co-operative Travel and Tourism Development Society, which will initially function as a tour operator and later diversify. Party leaders associated with the society are said to be close to state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.
Television channels: The party manages three satellite TV channels under the banner of Malayalam Communications Ltd. Liquor barons and Muslim League leaders associated with the Opposition alliance, the UDF, have also invested in the channels. A multi-storied headquarters for its premier channel, Kairali TV, is coming up in Thiruvananthapuram.

... contd.