Ramesan Paleri, chairman of Kerala-based Uralungal cooperative society, dies
Ramesan Paleri, chairman of Vadakara-based century-old Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society Ltd. (ULCCS) in Kozhikode, Kerala, one of the largest cooperative institutions in Asia, passed
Ramesan Paleri, chairman of Vadakara-based century-old Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society Ltd. (ULCCS) in Kozhikode, Kerala, one of the largest cooperative institutions in Asia, passed away on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) morning. He was 66. He had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, for some time. The body will be taken to Kozhikode and Vadakara for the public to pay their last respects on Tuesday evening. The last rites will be performed at his home on Wednesday morning. He is survived by his wife, Shobha, and sons Remin and Aswin. Ramesan is credited with transforming the society, whose operations were once limited to small contract works in north Malabar, into one of the biggest cooperatives in the country, with an annual turnover of over ₹1,700 crore.
Under his leadership, the institution developed a unique reputation for completing projects within the stipulated time and at limited cost. ULCCS made successful strides in various sectors through modernisation and diversification. At present, the companies under the society provide over 15,000 jobs directly and indirectly. He was also the brain behind UL Cyberpark, the first IT special economic zone in Malabar. Ramesan was born in 1960 as the son of Paleri Kanaran, one of the former presidents of the Uralungal society, a collective formed by a group of youths in 1925 to help backward caste people who were denied jobs. Mr. Ramesan’s grandfather, Paleri Chandamman, was also one of the founders of the institution, which upholds the ideals of social reformer Vagbhatananda.
After completing his preliminary education in Vadakara, Mr. Ramesan pursued a course in Civil Engineering. He joined the society in 1984 as an overseer. Ramesan was chosen as a director in 1995 and later became its president. The society made a mark in the late 1990s for the construction works it undertook for local bodies after the launch of the People’s Plan Campaign, a major democratic decentralisation initiative by the then Left Democratic Front government led by E.K. Nayanar. The society gradually modernised itself by developing facilities for producing raw materials and procuring advanced machinery and vehicles. Its works include the Valiyazhikkal bridge connecting Alappuzha and Kollam districts, the longest tension steel bar concrete bowstring bridge in Asia, and the renovated Palarivattom bridge in Kochi.
The BriefWire