Kalpetta: Environmental, cultural and human rights activists staged a satyagraha outside the Wayanad Civil Station following the landslide at the Kalladi tunnel portal, demanding action against the contractor, a comprehensive investigation into the environmental clearance granted to the tunnel project, and its permanent abandonment.
The protesters demanded that a case be registered against the contractor and that the company be disqualified. They also called for an investigation into the actions of the previous state government, alleging that environmental clearance was obtained by providing misleading information to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change without conducting adequate expert studies.
The organisations said the tunnel is being constructed in an area where landslides and soil slips occur repeatedly, claiming that three landslides had occurred near the project in recent years. They alleged that although the State Environment Impact Assessment Committee had imposed 20 conditions and the Union ministry had laid down 60 guidelines for the project, neither the government nor the contractor complied with them.
The protesters also sought an inquiry into the awarding of the contract to a company they claimed had been blacklisted in several states. They further alleged that blasting for rock excavation was carried out despite restrictions in the environmental clearance and accused the state government of permitting violations.
The organisations alleged that complaints submitted to state and central environmental authorities were rejected under pressure from the state government and the contractor, and also raised doubts over the dismissal of petitions before the High Court and the Supreme Court. Warning that the recent landslide was a sign of greater dangers ahead, they urged the state government to permanently abandon the tunnel project.