Panic in Himachal: Tunnel work cracks Shimla homes; 15 families evacuated at 10 pm in 1°C
Two residential buildings were evacuated near Shimla's Sanjauli after cracks appeared, allegedly due to tunnelling work. Around 40 people from 15 families were displaced amid freezing temperatures. Authorities suspended traffic on the bypass and initiated damage assessment and compensation processes.
SHIMLA: At least two residential buildings were evacuated near Sanjauli in Shimla district on Friday night after cracks developed in the structures, allegedly due to ongoing tunnelling work beneath the Chalaunthi bypass.Around 40 people from 15 families were forced to evacuate around 10 pm amid intense cold, with temperatures plunging close to 1°C. Many affected families spent the night by the roadside, lighting fires to keep themselves warm.
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Police and district administration officials, including additional district magistrate (law and order) Pankaj Sharma, reached the spot at night to supervise the evacuation. After cracks were noticed on the Sanjauli–Dhalli bypass road as well, authorities ordered an immediate suspension of vehicular traffic on the route.Inder Singh, a local, said homeowners had informed the tunnel construction company earlier this week about cracks appearing in their houses. "Company officials visited and told us the cracks were normal and there was no danger. However, last night, the same officials asked us to evacuate," he said.Himachal Pradesh panchayati raj minister Anirudh Singh visited the affected families on Saturday and assured them of all possible help.
"Fair compensation will be provided immediately to those who have suffered losses. I have also instructed that an immediate survey be conducted of all buildings along the alignment, from Bhatakuffer onwards. Instruments should be installed so that any settlement or movement can be detected immediately, and no one shifts blame later," the minister said.The minister said he had been repeatedly raising the issue with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Union minister Nitin Gadkari for the past one and a half years.
Special committees were formed to address damage occurring beyond the acquired land, he said, adding that similar committees were also constituted in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.Shimla deputy commissioner Anupam Kashyap, who visited the site with SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, said a committee headed by the Shimla (rural) SDM had been formed to assess the damage. The committee is expected to submit its report within a week, which will help determine compensation.
The state geologist has also begun preparing a report on the causes of the damage, which is expected within a week. Four-lane construction work has been suspended.Earlier incidents On June 30 last year, a multi-storeyed building in Mathu Colony of Bhatakuffer near Sanjauli collapsed following a landslide. An inquiry committee attributed the incident to hill cutting for the four-lane road project. In July 2025, the Shimla district administration directed the company executing the Kaithlighat–Dhalli four-laning of National Highway-5 to pay Rs 5.61 crore as compensation to affected families.Under NGT scanner On Jan 8, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) took cognisance of environmental and safety concerns linked to the four-lane road widening project on NH-5 in Shimla and issued notices to the state govt and the NHAI. Petitioner Narender Singh Rathore, an agricultural landowner in the Mashobra and Lindhi-Dhar areas of Shimla (rural), submitted that the work was being carried out on an extremely fragile and environmentally sensitive slope with a steep gradient of nearly 70 degrees, leading to landslides and environmental degradation.