Wayanad Tunnel a Gateway to Progress: CM

Pinarayi launches 8.73-km-long tunnel road work; long-awaited infra project set to be completed in 60 months

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Kozhikode

IN THE picturesque village of Anakkampoyil in Kozhikode, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday inaugurated the construction of the Wayanad tunnel road project, a long-awaited infrastructure initiative poised to revolutionize connectivity between Kozhikode and Wayanad districts.

It was a day history would remember, when a decades-old dream began to take solid form. The ceremony, held at the St. Mary's UP School ground, marks the beginning of a project set to become the country's largest twin-tunnel road and a vital alternative to the congested Thamarassery Ghat Road.

A crowd, vibrant and diverse, had gathered at the venue. Among the onlookers was 70-year-old Thomas, a spice farmer from Kalladi in Wayanad. For him, the Thamarassery Ghat Road has been a story of struggle—of hours-long traffic jams and of harrowing journeys during medical emergencies.

There were farmers who spent lifetimes navigating treacherous mountain passes, young entrepreneurs whose ambitions were tethered to the whims of the winding Thamarassery 'churam', and families who simply longed for a safer, quicker connection to their relatives.

The chief minister spoke of the tunnel road not as mere asphalt and concrete but as a lifeline.

"This is more than a tunnel, it is a gateway," Pinarayi declared, his voice resonating with conviction.