Chennai: After decades of public demand for an alternate route to sought-after hill station of Wayanad, the Kerala government has set the ball rolling for the Kozhikode-Wayanad tunnel road project in the Western Ghats.
The tender for the construction of the tunnel road was awarded to Dilip Buildcon for Rs 1,341 crore on 5 September. Officially kickstarted in 2020, the project is expected to be completed by 2028.
Besides connecting the districts of Kozhikode and Wayanad in Kerala, the 8.73-km four-lane tunnel road, the third longest in India once completed, is expected to increase connectivity between Kerala and neighbouring Karnataka.
According to the state government, the proposed tunnel road between Kozhikode’s Anakkampoyil and Wayanad’s Meppadi is 30 km shorter than the current route to the Wayanad district—National Highway 766 that connects Kozhikode to Kollegal in Karnataka.
The 272-km highway has an 11.5-km two-way stretch in the Thamarassery Ghat, with nine hairpin bends passing through a forest, and the route gets congested in traffic or rain.
“It (Kozhikode-Wayanad tunnel road) is an important step for Wayanad. The district attracts tourists throughout the year and the tunnel road will boost the tourist inflow into the district,” said C.K. Saseendran, former MLA of Wayanad’s Kalpetta constituency, adding that the project is expected to be completed by 2028.
He also told ThePrint that the Kerala government will encourage responsible tourism in the district, as its agricultural economy is facing challenges due to climate change.
The tunnel road project has drawn concern from environmentalists as it will be built in the ecologically-sensitive Wayanad, which was hit by India’s worst-ever landslides this July.
Over 300 people lost their lives in the landslides that occurred in Mundakkai and Chooralmala villages, which are 4 km away from Kalladi in Meppadi panchayat, where the proposed tunnel ends.
“We are opening up a new area for human intervention. It’s a biodiversity-rich region,” said C.K. Vishnudas, director of Wayanad-based Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology, adding that studies have shown that the hills of Wayanad are vulnerable to landslides.
Experts have also raised questions over the alignment of the proposed tunnel road and argued that it won’t decrease the travel time to Wayanad district.
“Wayanad needs a tunnel road, but the district won’t benefit from the proposed project as the travel distance will not be reduced,” said Wayanad-based engineer Paul Mathews, who is also a member of the Kerala Independent Farmers Association.
According to him, the proposed tunnel road is a deviation from the current route, leading to an increase in total distance and travel time. He added that most of the Wayanad population, living in the north and west of the project area, may not use the new road due to the increased distance.
Mathews suggested that an alternate tunnel through the existing Thamarassery Ghat that is connected to the mainland by an elevated highway would be more viable.
ThePrint’s calls to Kerala Public Works Department (PWD) minister P. A. Mohammed Riyas and Chief Engineer (Roads) Ajith Ramachandran, relating to queries on the subject, went unanswered.
Also Read: Wayanad landslides: Centre blames Kerala for allowing ‘illegal mining, unregulated human habitation’
Wayanad’s need for alternate route
Located in the north-eastern part of Kerala, Wayanad is a sought-after destination for domestic tourism. A study conducted by L&T Infrastructure this year revealed that 12,638 vehicles travel through the Thamarassery Ghat daily. The study estimated that the daily numbers are likely to go up to over 61,000 by the year 2048.
Beginning at Anakkampoyil, situated 50 km away from the Kozhikode city centre, the proposed tunnel road will reach Meppadi in Wayanad through Kalladi. The four-lane tunnel will connect the Anakkampoyil-Muthappanpuzha-Marippuzha road and the Meppadi-Kalladi-Chooralmala road.
The project was officially launched in 2020 after the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government began a survey for the tunnel road. The state completed acquisition of 19.5 hectares of land in both districts in May.
According to Vishnudas, a new tunnel road in the existing Thamarassery Ghat road would have avoided human intervention in a new region in the already fragile ecosystem of Wayanad.
A social impact assessment study by the Don Bosco Arts & Science College, submitted to the Kozhikode collector in 2022, had stated that many instances of soil erosion, landslides or landslip problems were reported from the project area.
The Kozhikode-Wayanad tunnel road, once completed, will be the third-longest tunnel road in India after the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel (9.28 km) in Jammu & Kashmir and the Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh (9 km).
It will also be Kerala’s second tunnel road after the twin-tube six-lane highway in Kuthiran hills of Thrissur district that was opened in 2021.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)