Four earthquakes in Peechi last week; Concern looms over Kuthiran

THRISSUR: On Thursday night, two landslides occurred in the hilly area after the Kuthiran tunnel on the road from Palakkad to Thrissur, raising concerns. Although civil engineers reported that the tunnel was not in danger, concern persists since the Kuthiran tunnel is in the Peechi forest area, which is prone to frequent earthquakes.

National Highways Authority officials and forest officials climbed the mountain to check whether a water flow had formed along the route the tunnel passes, but found nothing. The NHA is going to seek the help of a geotechnical professor from the Thrissur Govt. Engineering College and scientists from the Geological Survey of India to study the loose soil and rock structure of the hillside. Meanwhile, earthquakes of magnitude 2.6 were felt in Peechi four times in the past two weeks on the seismograph. Around 40 houses in Panancherry panchayat, adjacent to the Peechi forest area, were damaged.

If a danger is detected, the tunnel will be closed, and vehicles will be diverted through the old Kuthiran road. Minister O.J. Janeesh, former Revenue Minister K. Rajan MLA, Collector Shikha Surendran, City Police Commissioner Nakul R. Deshmukh and others visited Kuthiran on Friday morning.

20,000 vehicles daily

Around 20,000 vehicles pass through the tunnel daily. The National Highways Authority is constantly checking details with the contract company, including the maintenance of the road and the tunnel.

In 2009, Hyderabad-based KMC Constructions took over the Mannuthy-Vadakkancherry National Highway construction contract. Due to its lack of technical expertise, Pragati Engineering Company was given the subcontract for tunnel construction. When Pragati withdrew due to financial disputes, KMC's subsidiary Thrissur Expressway Limited completed the construction. There were concerns about the technical expertise possessed by the firm. In the rush to complete the work, this concern was ignored.