Kasaragod: District Collector Inbasekar K has directed Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) to suspend construction of the service road and retaining wall at the national highway site in Mattalayi near Cheruvathur, where a hillock collapse killed one worker and injured two others.

He said the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has been asked to submit a report on the incident before work can resume. Inbasekar visited the site Monday evening along with National Highways Authority Project Director Umesh Gar, Cheruvathur grama panchayat president C V Prameela, Trikaripur panchayat president V K Bava, Pilicode panchayat president P P Prasannakumari, MEIL representatives, and senior district officials.

Around 10.30 am, the base of a vertically sliced hillock gave way, burying 18-year-old Mumtaj Mir under loose soil. He was working on fixing shuttering plates for the retaining wall and was pulled out after half an hour, but could not be saved.

Two other workers -- 18-year-old Mohan Thejar and 55-year-old Munlal Laskar, both from West Bengal -- were buried waist-deep and suffered fractures to their legs.
MEIL had earlier been accused of unscientifically slicing the hillocks at both Mattalayi and Veeramalakunnu, 2 km away, leading to frequent landslides during the monsoon. The officials and the elected representatives also visited Veeramalakunnu.

Elected representatives have urged the NHAI to acquire additional land and reroute the road away from the base of the cut slopes, citing long-term risks to lives and vehicles once the highway becomes operational.

The collector directed officials to relocate the high-tension power line running above the hillock due to the continued risk of collapse.