No signs of Kanakakunnu Palace wall being rebuilt

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tourism department is yet to rebuild the boundary wall of the Kanakakunnu Palace on the Kanaka Nagar side destroyed during the last south-west monsoon, causing inconvenience to the tourists and residents alike. The palace boasts of the architectural remnants of the colonial era, built during the reign of Travancore King Sree Moolam Thirunal (1885 – 1924).  Later, Swathi Thirunal refurbished the palace and converted into his summer retreat. 

The Palace complex accommodates the Nishagandhi open-air auditorium and Sooryakanthi grounds where visitors have the entry through the Kanaka Nagar road which is the venue for many cultural meets and programmes.  For close to a year now, Kanaka Nagar residents and visitors who come to the Nishagandhi and Sooryakanthi grounds had brought it to the notice of the tourism department officials, the custodians, about the state of the boundary wall.

“Already, residents are having a hard time accessing the entry near the Museum Police Station of the Kanaka Nagar next where hoards of tourist vans and vehicles are parked here under the pay-and-park scheme,” said a resident.  “Amidst all this hullabaloo of parking, the boundary wall of the Kanakakunnu Palace collapsed almost a year ago during heavy rains causing more woes to us.”

V. S. Satheesh, planning officer of the tourism department, said the work on completing a section of the wall of the Kanakakunnu Palace which had crumpled down would be completed by Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society Ltd. “ULCCSL’s auditor has given the tourism department a design that a retaining wall has to be constructed first to prevent further damage to the tall structural wall of the palace,” said Mr Satheesh.

The tourism department has no estimate towards the construction of the fallen boundary wall.  Within two days its authorities will be seeking the permission of the public works department’s roads division executive engineer’s permission to dig the road.  They are hoping to complete the work before the south-west monsoon sets in.