Technopark’s team Eleven Reunites after 25 Years- They Transformed Vaidyankunnu forest into India’s first IT Park

TechnoparkToday.com>>  They were only as big as a football team.  But their herculean task of converting a dense forest called Vaidyankunnu into India’s first IT Park was as sportier than any other game.

When Technopark’s founding team reunited at the Park Centre after 25 years, the name Vaidyankunnu had become history.  The entire landscape has transformed into the country’s largest IT park with a built-up space of eight million sq ft, hosting over 340 companies and employing nearly 47,000 people.

Standing amidst the cheering crowd gathered to celebrate the silver jubilee of Technopark, its founding CEO Shri G Vijaya Raghavan went down memory lane to recollect the initial days of the Park. “Technopark had experts from all relevant fields in its governing body and project implementation team, the most luminous personalities of that time. Without their support and guidance this could never have been a reality,” he said.

The concept of the Technopark originated in a 1989 meeting held at the Government Guest House in Thycaudu under the guidance of industrialist-technocrat Shri KPP Nambiar (who died recently).  The then Chief Minister EK Nayanar and KR Gowri Amma, who was the Minister for industries, supported the idea of a Technology Park that that could create as many as 5000 job opportunities.

The successive UDF Government also supported the project in a big way.  “The entire affair has always been out of party politics,” says Shri Vijaya Raghavan.

The list of doyens behind Technopark was not limited to technocrats, bureaucrats and the politicians. Architects, Contractors, construction labourers and head-load workers associated with the Park were remembered on the occasion.

Technopark’s founding team has lost one of its brilliant players midway when the documentation expert P Satheesh was killed in a road accident. Despite that loss, they had to move forward until the Park developed into a leading IT hub. Slowly and steadily they won the race.

After completing the task trusted upon him, the founder CEO stepped down 15 years ago. At this, Shri KG Satheesh Kumar, who was a member of the founding team, served a short period as CEO of the Park. Other members including KC Chandrasekharan Nair, CFO; K Ramachandran Head Administration; M Vasudevan, Senior Marketing Manager; Ajith Mohan and R Veeramani have also left office on completing their tenure.

R Chithra, who was the head of the engineering department, is serving another company within the Park now.  Geetha Gopalakrishnan and Jaisamma Joseph are still working with Technopark as the member of the marketing team and the head of the purchasing team respectively.

Even though the number of companies in the Park increased exponentially with time during the last 25 years, the team behind Technopark has only raised to 51.

“Technopark has a long road to go,” said its current CEO Shri KG Girish Babu. “But we are out of the hard times. We receive enough financial support and guidance from the Government, which will definitely take Technopark to further heights.”