Various social media handles have been peddling the claim that the road travel time between Coimbatore and Thrissur has been reduced to just 10 minutes as opposed to the usual 2 hours, due to the Kuthiran tunnel.
Claims that the Kuthiran tunnel will reduce road travel time between Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore and Kerala’s Thrissur to just 10 minutes, were busted and put to rest almost two years ago. However, the rumour mill is now back at work, with various social media handles yet again peddling the false claim. The 1.6 km Kuthiran tunnel on the Thrissur-Palakkad route is Kerala’s first ever tunnel for road transport. On Sunday, July 25, a Twitter handle that goes by the name ‘Mouli’ shared an old video of the tunnel with a caption that read, “Coimbatore to Trichur Tunnel Opened. 2 hour journey is now 10 minutes. Thanks to Govt of INDIA infrastructure development. NO MEDIA HOUSE TALKS about such news [sic].” This tweet has garnered more than 9,100 likes and over 2,500 retweets. A similar claim was made by BJP Gujarat General Secretary Ratnakar in 2021, who had also shared the same video and caption. It is to be noted, however, that the Kuthiran tunnel was opened two years ago in July 2021. Also, as per the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Kuthiran tunnel is 1.6 kilometres long and is designed through the Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary. This alone debunks the claims that are being made. While the total distance between Thrissur and Coimbatore (via the tunnel) is 114 km, the tunnel stretches for only 1.6 km and is aimed at addressing the congestion on the Kuthiran hill during the commute. It does not take travellers from one city to another. COIMBATORE Coimbatore to Trichur Tunnel Opened. 2 hour journey is now 10 minutes. Thanks to Govt of INDIA infrastructure development. NO MEDIA HOUSE TALKS about such news. pic.twitter.com/ScOIKrNEtZ — Mouli. (@Chandramouli1_) June 25, 2023 According to Google Maps, the tunnel reduces the distance between Thrissur and Coimbatore by only 0.6 kilometres, that is two minutes without traffic. One of the advantages of the Kuthiran tunnel is that it allows the commuters to cover the 1.6 kilometre stretch in less than a minute by travelling at 60 kmph. Before the tunnel, commuters had to suffer from severe traffic congestion in the route, resulting in them having to wait for hours to bypass the Kuthiran hills.
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