Once bitten, Kerala not shy to eye tunnel via Western Ghats

Despite a deadly landslide in Wayanad, Kerala's government plans to build a controversial tunnel, raising environmental concerns.

Two and a half months after one of the country’s worst landslides was recorded in Kerala’s Wayanad killing 254 persons and leaving another 47 missing, the state’s Left Democratic Front (LDF) government is going ahead with plans to dig a 8.7km-long four-lane tunnel through the heart of a fragile portion of the Western Ghats.

Indian Navy's disaster relief team conducts search and rescue operation at a landslide-hit area in Wayanad. (PTI)

The government’s acknowledgement on Oct 11 in the Assembly that it will implement the controversial Anakkampoyil - Meppadi twin tunnel project was the first time after