A 15-foot-deep crater opened on the Dhali-Sanjauli bypass road in Shimla’s Chalonthi area on Monday evening, forcing the local administration to suspend all vehicular movement.
The cave-in, linked to the ongoing construction of a 2,900-metre four-lane tunnel, was severe enough to trap a National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) drilling machine.
The incident has triggered fresh panic among residents, coming just three weeks after similar structural damage forced the evacuation of three nearby houses.
While the NHAI attributed the collapse to “persistent rainfall and snowfall” weakening the road shoulder above the tunnel portal, local residents have pointed to negligence and the impact of tunnel blasting.
The NHAI said on Tuesday that the pit appeared above Tunnel-5 and claimed that planned remedial measures, including grouting and shotcreting, had been delayed due to local objections.
However, the situation remains precarious as cracks first observed on January 9 have now extended to the bypass road itself.
This follows an incident two weeks ago where soil beneath several homes caved into the tunnel, rendering the structures unsafe.
In response to the escalating risk, the NHAI has initiated the acquisition process for the most affected buildings and started backfilling the crater with suitable materials to stabilise the stretch.
Meanwhile, the district administration has ordered a comprehensive survey of all buildings in the Bhattakufar and Chalonthi areas to assess the long-term safety of the project.
www.hindustantimes.com
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