Before Kerala tunnel collapse, district collector’s warning was ignored

It is this soil which caved in, resulting in Tuesday’s landslide, Kerala’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Sunny Joseph, told The Indian Express. At least one person is dead, and seven are missing, while several others have been hospitalised.

VIDEO | Kerala: Landslide near Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi, where work on a tunnel road project connecting Malappuram and Wayanad districts was going on. One killed, seven injured, another seven missing, says Kerala CM V D Satheesan. CCTV visuals of the incident.#KeralaNews… pic.twitter.com/4tUkNZCUz7

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“The district collector had given standing instructions to remove the soil that was accumulating at the site. The order was not considered, and the construction company went ahead with the tunnelling work,” Sunny Joseph said.

Konkan Railway Corporation is the implementing agency for the project, which is expected to be completed in four years. Construction of the tube tunnels has been awarded to Bhopal-based Dilip Buildcon, while the approach roads and bridges in the project will be constructed by Kolkata-based Royal Construct. The tunnel connects Anakkampoyil in Kozhikode to Meppadi in Wayanad.

Joseph said, “This is a manmade disaster because the warning was ignored. We are seriously looking into the lapses that put lives in danger.”

The length of the tunnel is measured at 8.2 km, making it one of the longest tunnel roads in India. The estimated cost of the tunnel is Rs 2,400 crore, and the aim is to reduce travel time between Kozhikode and Wayanad districts. Joseph said that Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has taken cognisance of the alleged lapses.

It was only in April this year that the tunnelling project received the Supreme Court nod, as the apex court dismissed petitions by environmentalists who have been claiming that it could affect ecological and environmental balance in the Western Ghats. The project had received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change earlier, and the court upheld the ministry’s clearance.

The court, however, maintained that any “violations of environmental norms” that take place during construction would be open to legal challenge.

Kerala’s environment minister and Kalpetta MLA T Siddique told the media, “Unscientific dumping of loose soil at the project site has led to the tragedy. This is not a natural disaster but a manmade one. Earlier, the government had given clear instructions to Konkan Railway Corporation to ensure all safety measures and stop the construction work during heavy rains.”