Wayanad, July 11: The Kerala government has announced an financial assistance package of ₹5 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic landslide at the Kalladi Tunnel Phase-3 project site in Wayanad. Additionally, medical aid of up to ₹2 lakh will be sanctioned for the injured survivors based on the severity of their trauma.
The administrative decision comes as the death toll from the July 7 disaster rose to seven following the recovery of another body from the Meenachipuzha river downstream. Rescue operations have entered their fifth consecutive day, with specialized teams focusing heavily on locating the sole remaining missing individual, project manager Vikram Rana.
An independent expert panel has been constituted to probe the underlying factors that triggered the massive slope failure at the Meppadi Grama Panchayat worksite. Officials confirmed that all subterranean drilling and earthmoving activities at the tunnel project will remain strictly suspended until this investigative body delivers its final findings.
The probe will scrutinize whether the executing agency adhered to safety regulations and the environmental clearances mandated by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Kerala Minister T Siddique affirmed that previous rescue attempts faced massive hurdles due to heavy siltation from active upstream construction. He maintained that the suspension of engineering work has now cleared the river water, which allows the National Disaster Response Force and regional fire crews to execute a far more precise underwater search.
Emergency workers using heavy earth-clearing machinery are now targeting a specific zone where the missing official is believed to have been trapped. Recovered casualties, including a worker from West Bengal identified as Rajesh, are being repatriated to their home states following mandatory forensic procedures. Local authorities declared that the entire volume of displaced mud and construction debris dumped near the riverbanks will be completely cleared to prevent further ecological hazards.
