Working class party’s new theme in Kerala: revolution to resort

Kannur, September 2 : Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee may be the Left’s face of “reform”, but in Kerala, the CPM has made its own peace with capitalism. Resort is edging out revolution as the party of the working class plunges into tourism, directed at the affluent.

The party-controlled Malabar Tourism Development Cooperative Limited (MTDCL) opened a water theme park at Parasinikkadavu in Kannur on Sunday, and is now planning a major resort in this party stronghold. Boasting five-star facilities, the resort will offer ayurveda as a bonus, says MTDCL Chairman K K Narayanan.

Two weeks back, a CPM-backed cooperative society was formed in Kozhikode to cash in on the state’s tourism industry. The new society has lined up a host of projects.

In Palakkad, a stronghold of party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, the CPM has identified a tract of land near Mannarkkadu for a tourism venture. “The project is at an infancy stage. Some businessmen close to the party are working out the details,” sources said.

The MTDCL was formed in 2001 with CPM leader E P Jayarajan as Chairman. Right from the start, the project was mired in controversies as it was seen as a sign of the party’s “rightist” deviation.

To make fund mobilisation for the park easy, the party had formed a private company, Malabar Pleasures (India) Ltd. “Mobilisation of funds from the Gulf via a cooperative society was not easy,” sources said.

Opponents pointed out that the CPM, which led an agitation against Coca-Cola over “exploitation of water” in Palakkad district, could face the same charge over the park in Kannur. In fact, the park will have to definitely depend on water from the nearby Kambil river. But Parasinikkadavu being a party village, the CPM expects to get by without much protest.

Though the park has a rainwater harvesting system capable of storing 50 lakh litres, it may not suffice for operating 13 rides a day through the year. Asked about the daily requirement of water at the park, MTDCL Chairman Narayanan said he had not looked into that aspect.

The CPM’s choice of...