Landslip near 2024 Wayanad landslide spot triggers concerns against proposed tunnel road project

Thiruvananthapuram: A landslip that took place near the 2024 Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide ravaged spot of Wayanad last week has further triggered protests against the proposed Wayanad tunnel road project.

An official statement from the Wayanad district collector R Meghasree said that the landslip that occurred in the forest areas of the Vellari hills on May 30 afternoon did not cause any casualties. There were no human settlements in the nearby areas. A team of officials visited the spot and reviewed the situation.

Environmentalists however point out that unlike the previous year the landslip occurred as soon as the monsoon rain occurred. Hence there needs to be high caution.

Engineer-turned environmentalist Sridhar Radhakrishnan said in a social media post that the landslide during the initial days of the rain itself stressed the need to review the development priorities like the twin tunnel project.

"Can development activities like creating tunnel roads by demolition of hills and blocking natural water flows, address landslides? Considering the chances of disasters, steps need to be taken with much caution," he said.

The expert appraisal committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forest recently recommended environmental clearance for the 8.75 km tunnel road project between Wayanad and Kozhikode.

The state and central expert appraisal committees even cited serious concerns over the project in the ecologically fragile region.

The Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samathi (WPSS), a forum of environmentalists, has already announced a legal fight against the project citing the environmental hazards it posed.