Thiruvananthapuram, 8 July

The Kerala government suspended construction of the Wayanad twin tunnel project on Wednesday after a landslide at the construction site killed three migrant workers and left five others missing, with search operations continuing.

Chief Minister VD Satheesan, speaking after a Cabinet meeting, said the government would conduct legal and technical investigations into the incident and review all vulnerable factors before allowing construction to resume. "Work will resume only after evaluating all vulnerable factors," he said.

Satheesan said there would be two separate inquiries, one to determine the cause of the tragedy and another to examine whether the construction company had complied with the environmental and safety conditions laid down by the Centre while granting clearance for the project. He later left for Wayanad to assess the situation.

The Rs 2,400-crore project is being implemented by the Konkan Railway Corporation. Dilip Buildcon is constructing the twin tunnels, while Royal Construct is responsible for the approach roads and bridges.

Construction began last year from both ends of the project, at Meppadi in Wayanad district and Anakkampoyil in Kozhikode district. The proposed 8.2-km tunnel will pass through the ecologically fragile and landslide-prone Western Ghats and is intended to improve connectivity between Wayanad, Karnataka and other parts of Kerala.

Construction has progressed on the Kozhikode side, where one tunnel has crossed the 50-metre mark. On the Wayanad side, work has so far been limited to preparing the tunnel entrance through slope benching.

The incident comes less than two years after the devastating Wayanad landslides of 2024, which killed hundreds and prompted widespread scrutiny of construction and development activity in the ecologically sensitive hill district. The tunnel project had already drawn concern from environmentalists and opposition groups over its route through the Western Ghats.