Moidu Moulavi memorial left in lurch

KOZHIKODE: Freedom fighter Moidu Moulavi’s memorial, a spacious building in a prime area of the City near Beach Hospital, is in a dilapidated condition with no one to attend on the visitors and no activities taking place. The building which houses a national museum with over 80 rare photographs and info tables related to the Indian freedom struggle and Moidu Moulavi also has a separate room dedicated to the articles used by Moulavi, who died in 1995.

The building premises have now become a safe haven for stray dogs and weeds.
The Memorial, built using the funds of Kozhikode North MLA A Pradeep Kumar and Kozhikode Municipal Corporation, was inaugurated in 2011 by litterateur M.T. Vasudevan Nair. The construction of the building began 15 years but ran into a fund crunch. It was after several efforts and deliberations, administrative sanction was granted to spend Rs five lakh from the MLA fund and another Rs six lakh from Kozhikode Corporation.

The committee with the MLA as the Chairman and District Information Officer as the Secretary is responsible for the functioning of the memorial. Speaking to this newspaper, Kozhikode Corporation Mayor Thottahil Raveendran said , “The Corporation gave the land and financial assistance for the building though we are not part of its administration. I have been receiving many complaints regarding the condition of the Memorial and we will definitely take up the issue with the authorities concerned,” said the Mayor.

MLA A Pradeep Kumar said that he would soon call a meeting to discuss the issue and to plan revival activities at the Memorial. “We are in touch with the Malabar Christian college History department to convert the Memorial building into an activity centre which can inculcate values on nationalism,” he said. “An open-air stage on the premises of the building is also under consideration,” he added.