Wayanad disaster: Tunnel project put on hold as govt orders twin probes

Thiruvananthapuram: The construction of the Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi twin-tunnel road project in Wayanad has been put on hold until two separate investigations ordered by the state govt into Tuesday’s accident are completed.

One investigation will examine whether the contractor complied with the environmental conditions the Centre imposed when granting clearance to the project.Chief minister V D Satheesan said after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, which reviewed the matter following the mudslip that killed three people and left five missing, that the govt would examine reports on the accident and initiate technical and legal procedures to determine the circumstances that led to it.The investigations will also examine reports of a landslip above the accident site and the overall geological risks in the area. A separate inquiry will determine whether the contractor adhered to the environmental safeguards stipulated in the project’s clearance.Satheesan said the construction would remain suspended until the risks were fully assessed and the govt received the inquiry reports. A decision on resuming work will be taken only after evaluating their findings, he said.

An ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each will be paid to the families of the three migrant labourers killed in the disaster. The govt will facilitate the transportation of the bodies to their native places. The deceased were Chandraban, an equipment operator from Madhya Pradesh; Bikash Kumar, a civil foreman from Bihar; and Anmol, a worker from Jharkhand.Seven people injured in the incident are undergoing treatment at Meppadi WIMS Hospital.

The search for the five people who remained missing on Wednesday did not yield any results.Satheesan recalled that he had consistently opposed proceeding with the tunnel project without a comprehensive environmental impact assessment, arguing that the fragile ecology of the Western Ghats warranted extreme caution. He said he had faced ridicule and political attacks from CPM, which branded him anti-development, and that his concerns over soil stability and environmental risks had been mocked.He contended that a study commissioned by the previous LDF govt had concluded that the tunnel should not be constructed and that the Centre had initially declined permission for the project. According to him, the previous state govt nevertheless persisted with the project, after which the Centre granted environmental clearance subject to stringent conditions. “What exactly happened must now be examined,” he said.The state government had on Tuesday described the incident as a “man-made disaster” and blamed the unscientific dumping of excavated soil at the construction site. The construction company, however, rejected the allegation, maintaining that the mudslip originated from a landslip above the worksite.