THIRUVANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government has constituted a three-member expert committee to inspect the Wayanad tunnel and township project sites and submit recommendations for the safe removal of debris accumulated following a landslide.
Seven bodies have been recovered from the site of the Wayanad landslide, which occurred on 7 July.
The decision to form the panel was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister V D Satheesan with Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Public Works Minister P K Basheer on Friday, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.
The committee will include Dr Santhosh G Thampi, professor at NIT Calicut; Dr Jude Emmanuel, environmental scientist at the Directorate of Environmental and Climate Change; and a representative from the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS).
An order issued by the Disaster Management Department said the panel would visit the tunnel and township project sites and assist the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in carrying out the safe removal of debris.
For the tunnel project, the debris will be transported to disposal sites identified by the Public Works Department (PWD). For the township project, the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) will identify suitable locations for depositing the material.
The committee has also been asked to prepare a brief action plan with necessary safety measures for debris removal, which will be followed by the PWD and PIU.
The government has directed the panel to inspect the sites and submit its report at the earliest. The Wayanad District Collector has been instructed to provide all necessary support to the committee.
(With inputs from PTI)