Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the start of blasting works of the controversial Wayanad tunnel project between Anakkampoyil and Meppadi on Friday.
CM Vijayan, accompanied by PWD minister PA Mohammed Riyas and local MLA Linto Joseph, reached Marippuzha in Kozhikode district where he attended the ceremony of the ‘first blast’ of the 8.73-km-long twin tunnel project. In accordance with all safety measures, CM Vijayan switched on the system and the explosives placed at the entrance of one of the tubes of the proposed tunnel were detonated.
The construction of the twin tunnel tube project, which is aimed at providing an alternate commute for people travelling to Wayanad, had begun in August last year. Out of the 8.73-km-long road, 8.11 km will be in the form of a tunnel running beneath fragile hills and forests of the Western Ghats.The tunnel is set to be realised by 2029 and is being developed at a cost of ₹2134.5 crore from Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). With Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) as the special purpose vehicle, the construction works are being carried out by Dilip Buildcon Ltd of Bhopal.
The project has been controversial. A section of environmentalists have claimed that drilling a tunnel through a highly fragile section of the Western Ghats would destabilise slopes in the region, trigger landslides, interfere with the movement of wild elephants in the area and disturb tribal settlements.
Project documents have shown that the mouth of the tunnel on the Wayanad side is just 800 metres away from Puthumala, the site of a major landslide in 2019 which killed 17 persons.
{{/usCountry}}Project documents have shown that the mouth of the tunnel on the Wayanad side is just 800 metres away from Puthumala, the site of a major landslide in 2019 which killed 17 persons.
{{/usCountry}}Despite the opposition from activists, the project has got the clearance from the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) and the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry. The stage 2 clearance from the Union ministry last month gives nod for diversion of over 17 hectares of forest land for construction activities.