Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated the start of blasting works for the Wayanad tunnel project. The 8.73-km-long twin tunnel project aims to provide an alternate commute for people traveling to Wayanad.
The construction of the tunnel, which began in August last year, is expected to be completed by 2029 at a cost of ₹2134.5 crore. However, the project has been met with opposition from environmentalists who claim that drilling a tunnel through the Western Ghats would destabilise slopes, trigger landslides, and disturb tribal settlements.
The project has received clearance from the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee and the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry. The stage 2 clearance from the Union ministry last month gave the nod for diversion of over 17 hectares of forest land for construction activities.
