T. Siddique, MLA, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president, has said that his party will not oppose the construction of the proposed Anakkampoyil-Meppadi tunnel road, an alternative to the Thamarassery Ghat Road linking Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, if the project did not damage the biodiversity of the region.
The project envisages the construction of a 6.8-km tunnel on the Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi route to decongest the Ghat Road.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Siddique said the party would not oppose the proposed project if the social and environmental impact studies favoured it.
“It is the responsibility of the State Government to conduct the studies prior to the execution of the project”, he said. There were positive and negative opinions regarding the project now, but there was no scope for opposing it before conducting the studies, he said.
Meanwhile, the environmental organisations in the district have decided to launch an indefinite agitation against the tunnel road and the SilverLine project of the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail).
Both the projects would cause serious social and ecological impacts in the State, Thomas Ambalavayal, secretary, Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi, said.
The government said the proposed tunnel road would give a fillip to tourism, industry and agrarian sectors in the region, but the project would not have any positive result, he said. The project was really focused on how to exploit the immense potential of granite on the Western Ghats for the construction works of the K-Ril project in Malabar region, he alleged.
The organisation would convene a meeting of the public at the Vayojana park at Sulthan Bathery at 2 p.m. on Sunday adhering to the COVID-19 protocol and it would decide the course of the agitation.
