JOIN USEcologists raise concerns over Wayanad tunnel project
Greens in Kerala have raised concerns and doubts over the much-hyped tunnel road announced by the Kerala government as an alternative to the ghat roads to Wayanad.
Attempts to exploit the granite resources, ecological impact posed by the 6.8 kilometre long tunnel, and a pre-poll gimmick are some of the concerns and allegations being raised by the environmental activists of Wayanad against the project that was formally announced by Kerala Chief Minister the other day.
The proposed tunnel between Anakkampoyil in Kozhikode and Meppadi in Wayanad, expected to be the third-longest tunnel in the country, was mooted as a solution to overcome the difficulties being faced in developing the ghat road.
Moreover, it would also bring down the distance between Wayanad and Kozhikode by around 30 kilometres, which would be beneficial for scores of vehicles frequently moving between Kerala and Karnataka along this route.
Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samathi has raised concerns over the project which is in the initial stages of a survey by the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited.
According to a social media post of the Samathi, the project involved a plot to procure lakhs of cubic metric quarries stone. Moreover, the tunnel is proposed through parts of the Chembramala-Vellarimala Camel Hump complex which was one of the ecologically sensitive areas of Western Ghats.
The Samathi also accused that the project was being initiated without obtaining clearance from the environment ministry and detailed project report or technical study were also not yet conducted.
The Samathi also termed as an election gimmick the announcement of Kerala Chief Minister that it would be completed in three years. Work on the recently commissioned Atal tunnel began way back on 2002 and a 900 metre Kuthiran tunnel at Thrissur in Kerala is yet to be commissioned even more than six years after the work began, the Samathi pointed out.
Referring to criticisms that the greens were opposing development work, the Samathi pointed out that many development projects launched in Wayanad over the last few decades were yet to materialise.