- Kerala government shifts stance on Wayanad tunnel landslide, awaiting probe results
- Contractor Dilip Buildcon denies responsibility, cites heavy rainfall and terrain factors
- Company claims all construction and safety measures followed approved engineering designs
The Kerala government's position on the deadly Wayanad tunnel landslide seems to be shifting, even as NDTV accessed the note the contractor submitted to the state defending its role in the disaster.
Just a day after senior ministers and elected representatives described the incident as a "man-made disaster", the government's language has become more measured, with Chief Minister VD Satheeshan saying the final conclusion will be based on a scientific investigation rather than preliminary assessments.
The development comes as NDTV accessed the official note submitted by contractor Dilip Buildcon to the Kerala government. In the document, the company firmly rejected any responsibility for the landslide, attributing the collapse to exceptionally heavy rainfall and the terrain rather than construction activity.
In the note, the contractor said the weather department had issued a Red Alert and that Wayanad received around 240 mm of rainfall within 24 hours. It claimed the landslide originated about 240 metres away from the excavated portion of the tunnel — above the tunnel crown — and that the debris rushed downhill because of the natural elevation difference.
The company further stated that all construction, drainage, and slope protection measures were carried out according to approved engineering designs, and that tunnelling work had already been suspended since mid-June due to the monsoon.
Five people were killed in the landslide and its aftermath
The note is significant because it counters the assessment emerging from government experts, who have pointed to violations in muck disposal practices and failure to comply with repeated directions to remove accumulated excavated material.
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The government's public position also appears to have evolved.
Speaking to reporters at the Wayanad Collectorate on Wednesday, Satheeshan said he had ordered a detailed investigation into the disaster. He said an expert team would determine the exact nature and cause of the landslide, and only after receiving that report would the government officially state whether it was a natural or man-made disaster.
He also said a police case would be registered if wrongdoing is proved and that if the contractor had indeed failed to comply with government directions, including removal of the muck pile, appropriate legal action would be initiated.
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The remarks marked a notable departure from Tuesday's narrative, when ministers and local representatives unequivocally described the incident as a man-made disaster. On Wednesday, the government clarified those statements merely reflected what elected representatives had heard from people at the site and were not the state's final technical assessment.
