40 minutes ago
4
ARTICLE AD BOX
2 min readThiruvananthapuramJul 8, 2026 12:26 PM IST
Construction on the Kozhikode side has progressed, with boring of one of the tunnels crossing the 50-metre mark. (PTI Photo)
The Kerala government Wednesday decided to suspend construction of the Wayanad twin tunnel project until all vulnerable factors are reviewed.
Tuesday’s tragedy at the preparatory work near the tunnel entrance in Wayanad killed three migrant workers and left five others missing. Search operations are still on for the missing workers.
After the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister V D Satheesan told the media that the government would initiate legal and technical probes into the circumstances that led to the tragedy. There was also a landslide above the construction site. While granting environmental clearance for the tunnel, the Union government had laid down strict guidelines. “It will be examined whether the construction company complied with those directives. Work will resume only after evaluating all vulnerable factors,” he said.
The chief minister said there would be two levels of inquiry into the incident. One would examine the reasons behind the tragedy, while the other would look into whether the Centre’s guidelines had been followed. He said this before leaving for Wayanad to assess the situation.
The Konkan Railway Corporation is the implementing agency for the project. Construction of the tube tunnels has been awarded to Dilip Buildcon, while the approach roads and bridges will be built by Royal Construct.
Construction of the Rs 2,400-crore project began last year from both ends of the tunnels — Meppadi in Wayanad and Anakkampoyil in Kozhikode district. The proposed 8.2-km tunnel, cutting through the ecologically fragile and landslide-prone peaks of the Western Ghats, is intended to improve connectivity to Wayanad and Karnataka from other parts of Kerala.
Construction on the Kozhikode side has progressed, with boring of one of the tunnels crossing the 50-metre mark. On the Wayanad side, work is still limited to preparing the tunnel entrance, mainly through slope benching.
English (US) ·