It's been close to three weeks since Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy passed away but the influx of people visiting his burial site at the Puthupally Saint George Orthodox Church in Kottayam has been increasing with each passing day, and tour operators are cashing in on this opportunity. A tour operator based out of Attingal has even started a travel package to the Puthupally church to visit the former Kerala CM's tomb. According to reports, other travel operators are soon to follow suit.
Mathrubhumi.com reported that the Attingal-based tour operator organised a trip to Puthupally charging Rs 500 per person. The tour operator got the idea on a trip back from Kottayam, when they stopped at Puthupally church and people started visiting the tomb. Oommen Chandy has been laid to rest in a special tomb located in an exclusive area of the graveyard, that is usually used for priests of the church.
The former CM passed away on July 18, after fighting cancer for several years. He passed away in a hospital in Bengaluru and his body was airlifted to Thiruvananthapuram. His mortal remains were kept for the public to pay their respects in four places in Thiruvananthapuram. On July 19, the 150-km-long funeral procession started from Thiruvananthapuram and reached his hometown Puthupally after nearly 30 hours.