Wayanad tunnel site landslide man-made, caused by unscientific dumping of earth: Minister Siddique

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Minister T Siddique on Tuesday said the incident at the Kalladi tunnel project site was not a natural landslide but a "man-made landslide" caused by the unscientific dumping of excavated earth.

Addressing reporters, Siddique said six persons injured in the incident -- Kiran Kumar, Dileep, Suraj Yadav, Sanjay Thakur, Rajneesh and Tanmay Ghosh -- were admitted to WIMS Hospital, and all of them were in stable condition.

"This is not a natural landslide. It is a man-made landslide. It happened due to the unscientific dumping of excavated earth," he said.

The minister said concerns over the manner in which excavated earth was being dumped at the site had been raised earlier after heavy rains in Wayanad.

Directions had been issued to assess the situation, remove the accumulated earth and stop work if required, he said.

"The government will examine why this happened and why the earlier directions were not followed," Siddique said.

He said that the mud was dumped in a similar fashion at the Wayanad Township project, where houses are constructed for the survivors of the 2024 landslide.

He said Wayanad received 256 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Siddique said an NDRF team from Meenangadi had reached the site and another team from Kozhikode had also been asked to proceed to Wayanad. Fire and Rescue Services personnel had already begun rescue operations.

The minister said the Wayanad District Collector had reached the spot and Kerala State Disaster Management Authority Chairman Sekhar Kuriakose had been asked to coordinate the rescue operations at all levels.

He said authorities had begun efforts to ascertain whether more people were trapped under the debris.

Siddique said Revenue Minister A P Anil Kumar and he were proceeding to Wayanad to oversee the situation.