Multi-storey building collapses like a pack of cards in Shimla; locals blame four-lane NH work

A multi-storey building collapsed and cracks appeared in other residential structures in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, on Monday.

- GNS News Agency

The locals blamed the damage on the excavation and rock-cutting undertaken for a four-lane highway project.The house at Sanjay Van Colony in the Chamyana gram panchayat collapsed around 8 am. The house belonged to Ranjana Verma, 48, who vacated it the previous night.A viral video shows the building collapsing like a pack of cards. Later, Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh visited the site and assured the affected families of all possible assistance.A grieving Ranjana Verma told The Indian Express, “Minor cracks had been appearing in our house for about a month, but they deepened over the past three days with the onset of monsoon rain. We had complained to the NHAI, which had hired a private company for the highway construction, about how the unscientific cutting of rocks and insertion of massive iron rods into already fragile hills were weakening the slope. But nothing was done. The strong vibrations caused by the cutting and insertion of 15-20-m-long iron rods shook the entire hillside.”