Residents of a six-storey building in Shimla's Chalaunthi area were forced to flee their homes in the dead of night on Tuesday after large cracks suddenly appeared in the structure, sparking fears of an imminent collapse. The incident, which has left about ten families homeless amid severe winter cold, has reignited accusations against the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for its "unscientific" tunnelling work for the Shimla bypass project.
Minister Points Finger at NHAI, Halts Blasting
Visiting the site, Himachal Pradesh's Panchayati Raj Minister, Anirudh Singh, squarely blamed the NHAI for the dangerous situation. He stated that the same tunnel project was responsible for a series of recent disasters in the area. "It is the same tunnel that was the reason behind recent reported incidents including the cave-in of a road and the collapse of a five-storey building last year," Singh asserted. The minister revealed that orders have been issued to ban all future blasting for the tunnel construction immediately.
The building collapse in Bhattakuffar on June 30 last year and a recent road cave-in at the same location barely one and a half months ago, where an eight-year-old girl fell into a cavity, were both previously linked by locals to the NHAI's work.
Evacuations and Expanding Damage
The crisis was not confined to a single building. Following the initial damage, authorities discovered cracks in a nearby hotel and another residential building. As a precaution, these structures were also evacuated to prevent any loss of life. Deputy Commissioner Shimla, Anupam Kashyap, confirmed that a committee has been formed under SDM Shimla (Rural) Manjeet Sharma to assess the damage. The four-lane construction work at the site has been halted pending the committee's report, expected within a week, after which compensation proceedings will begin.
A separate assessment by the geology department is also underway. Police swiftly closed the adjoining road to traffic and shifted the affected residents to safer locations.
Residents' Warnings Ignored, Traffic Chaos Ensues
Local residents, like Sudershan Devi, claimed they had seen minor cracks developing two to three days prior and had reported them to the construction company and district administration. They allege that officials had declared the buildings safe at that time. The rapid deterioration of the cracks on Tuesday night forced the panicked evacuation.
The incident's fallout extended to Shimla's traffic, causing severe disruptions. Authorities closed the Dhalli–Sanjauli bypass for heavy vehicles, diverting them to alternate routes. This led to major congestion in parts of Shimla, especially Sanjauli, with long traffic jams causing significant inconvenience to daily commuters and patients throughout the day.
The area along the Bhattakufar-Chalaunthi stretch, where the NHAI's four-lane highway work is ongoing, has seen several houses evacuated earlier due to similar stability concerns, highlighting a persistent threat to residential safety from the infrastructure project.
