It was erected to memorialise a traumatic event that has been deeply ingrained in the collective consciousness of the region. Instead, the emotion it instigates now perhaps is a sense of shock.
As Kumarakom observes the 20th anniversary of one of the worst boat tragedies in Kerala, a multi-storey building constructed as a monument of the accident near the boat jetty here stands as a picture of neglect. Constructed at a cost of ₹50 lakh, the memorial has now turned into a haven for vandals.
In the absence of periodical maintenance, the offices of the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) and the State Water Transport department (SWTD) that functioned here have been shifted to different locations. A proposal by the authorities to open a dormitory for boat passengers on its top floor has done little more than gather dust.
