Kerala tunnel road project: controlled rock blasts begin
CONTROLLED rock blasts at the site of the proposed Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi tunnel road project began on Friday (March 6, 2026). Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the process to be carried out under stringent safety measures.
Public entry to the site will be regulated as part of the safety measures in place. For the public, the switch-on event was shown live at the Muthappanpuzha ALP school at 11 a.m.
Minister for Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas will preside over the function to be held at Marippuzha. Ministers K.N. Balagopal, K. Rajan, A.K. Saseendran, and O.R. Kelu, and Priyanka Gandhi, MP, were present on the occasion.
Officials said all safety measures are in place in the project area. The blasting process was fixed after setting up basic amenities, including a temporary bridge, fuel tanks, camping sheds for labourers and crusher units.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had earlier accorded final stage-II clearance for the tunnel road project, a flagship infrastructure initiative of the Kerala government. The clearance for the project also included the conversion of 17.26 hectares of forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
The ministry had also stipulated 24 stringent conditions for the execution of the project without harming the environment. They included a clear demarcation of the converted forest land, undertaking compensatory afforestation on an equivalent extent of non-forest land, and planting of at least 1,000 saplings per hectare within two years.
According to Public Works Department (PWD) officials, the 8.73-km tunnel road connecting Wayanad and Kozhikode districts would be among the largest infrastructure development projects in the State. They said the construction was progressing at a rapid pace.
The project execution, supervised by the PWD and financed by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board, would be completed under the supervision of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited, the special purpose vehicle for the venture.
According to the construction agreement, the project would be completed within four years at an estimated cost of ₹2,134.5 crore. The contract had already been awarded earlier to Bhopal-based Dilip Buildcon and Royal Infrastructure, headquartered in Kolkata.
