Thomas Chandy

Thomas Chandy was born on 29 October 1947, one of the sons of V. C. Thomas and Aleyamma Thomas at Chennamkary. He was educated at Devamatha High School in Chennamkary, St. Mary's HS Kainakary^[3] and at Leo XIII English Medium School in Alappuzha.^[4] He had a diploma in Telecommunication Engineering from the Institute of Engineering Technology, Alleppey.^[5] He was married to Mercy Chandy.^[6]

Death

Chandy died from cancer on 20 December 2019, at age 72.^[7][8]

Political career

He started his political career in the

Chandy had interests in the fields of education and hospitality among others. He was the Chairman of the United Indian School,[14] an Indian public school, and Indian Central School^[15] in Kuwait. He also ran Al-Alia International Indian School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.^[16] Chandy also owned a controlling interest in the Lake Palace Resort, located on the Punamada Lake in Kerala.^[17]

Allegations

A media report alleged that Chandy did not declare his true property value in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission of India. He was accused of encroachment on Punnamada Lake at his resort in Alappuzha by keeping buoys afloat. It was later found by the District Collector that he had attained the necessary permissions from the government authorities in the state to keep the buoys afloat to keep waste away from the resort. It was also found that no one had complained about mobility rights within the buoy area over the years.^[18]

An allegation was raised against Chandy in October 2017 that he constructed a resort and a road to it illegally by filling in a water channel and paddy field in the ecologically fragile lower Kuttanad region. Initial reports from the district administration went against him and, as of August 2018, the probe was still going on.^{[needs update]}

Social activism

He was a social worker both in Kuwait and Kerala. In Kuwait, he was involved with a waste disposal and cleanup campaign in a suburb mainly inhabited by expatriates from Kerala.^[19] He also intervened in the case of Indian nurses who were duped in a job racket which promised them jobs in government hospitals in Kuwait.^[20]

Chandy was the chairman of the Daveedputhra Charitable Society, which has been involved in building houses and providing sanitation facilities, health care and educational assistance, and other services.^[21]

References