One dead, at least 7 injured in Kerala's Wayanad landslide, minister calls it 'man-made disaster'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "One dead, at least 7 injured in Kerala's Wayanad landslide, minister calls it 'man-made disaster'")
A landslide near Meenakshi Bridge in Kerala's Wayanad disrupted
A landslide near Meenakshi Bridge in Kerala's Wayanad disrupted an under-construction tunnel project, damaging vehicles and trapping workers. Rescue teams, including the NDRF, were deployed as state ministers called it a "man-made" disaster caused by unscientific dumping of excavated soil.
At least one person was killed, and at least seven were injured after a landslide was reported in Kerala's Wayanad district on Tuesday (July 7). The landslide occurred at Kalladi near Meppady in the district. The landslide occurred near Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi, where work on a tunnel road project connecting Malappuram and Wayanad districts was underway.
News agency PTI reported that a few vehicles that transport tunnel employees were also damaged in the landslide. Police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have also been deployed for the rescue operation. CM Satheesan calls emergency meeting In the wake of the landslide, Chief Minister V.D. Satheeshan held an emergency meeting with Wayanad Minister T. Siddique and directed him to coordinate the rescue operations.
CM Satheeshan convenes emergency meeting
Following the incident, Chief Minister V.D. Satheeshan held an emergency meeting with Wayanad Minister T. Siddique and instructed him to oversee the ongoing rescue efforts. According to ANI, the Chief Minister's Office said Revenue Minister AP Anil Kumar has also been directed to travel to Wayanad immediately along with Minister Siddique to monitor the situation.
Minister calls it a "man-made" disaster
Agriculture Minister T. Siddique blamed the landslide on what he described as "unscientific dumping" of excavated material from the tunnel construction project, arguing that the tragedy could have been prevented if earlier warnings had been addressed. "This is not a natural landslide. It is a man-made landslide. It happened due to the unscientific dumping of excavated earth," he said. "It's a disaster perpetuated by unscientific dumping of soil and mud as part of the tunnel project. There were indications of such actions and they were raised at meetings of the Konkan officials. But it seems no corrective steps were taken. Six people have been hospitalised so far. NDRF teams from Kozhikode and Wayanad are enroute. Efforts are on to search for trapped people and coordinate rescue operations," Siddique added further.
