Kalpetta: The state government which has been aggressively pushing the twin-tunnel project connecting Wayanad and Kozhikode has received a blow from its main ally with CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam openly warning against the implementation of the project.
Binoy Viswam has said that the state should think thrice before executing such mega projects in the extremely sensitive Western Ghat mountain zones. His comment came in the wake of Wayanad landslide which has claimed over 400 lives.
'' There should be more scientific studies before finalizing the project. Any developmental project sacrificing the lives of the poor is not real development which will not be sustainable. Crores spent on such projects would be wasted. Earth will not bear everything,'' Binoy Viswam said.
The proposed tunnel begins from Anakkampoyil in Thiruvambadi panchayath in Kozhikode district and ends at Kalladi, in Meppadi Panchayath in Wayanad. Kalladi is just a few kilometres away from Mundakkai, the origin of the landslide.
CPI's opposition to the project has given momentum to ongoing protests by the environmentalists. Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithy (WPSS) has decided to intensify its agitation against the project. WPSS president N Badusha said that if the government implements such projects even after a disaster of such a magnitude, it would lead to more tragedies in the coming days. '' The landslide is just a warning signal,'' he said. WPSS organized a sit-in agitation raising various demands in front of the Collectorate on Tuesday.
Thiruvambadi MLA Linto Joseph said that the CPI leader was just expressing his concern for the safety of the people living in the region. '' The government will ensure that the project would be entirely safe and will not cause any calamities in future in the region. All necessary environmental impact studies would be conducted before implementing the project,'' he said.
Moreover, even before the landslide, opposition leader V D Satheesan had objected to the project, citing the risk of implementing such a project in an ecologically sensitive zone. However Congress was divided over the issue then.
While Congress leader and Kalpetta MLA T Siddique had expressed his displeasure over the opinion of the Opposition leader, Wayanad DCC president N D Appachan had supported Mr Satheesan, saying that alternative roads to the Wayanad Ghat road are the best ways to address the traffic snarls on the route.
The land acquisition as part of the project on both sides at Wayanad and Kozhikode districts is almost over. The procedures for the acquisition of the remaining 1.85 hectares land also are underway.
