Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 30 (ANI): Incessant rainfall over the past 24 hours has caused widespread damage across Himachal Pradesh, including in its capital, Shimla. In the Bhatakufar area near Shimla, a five-storey residential building collapsed early Monday morning, triggering panic among local residents. As a precautionary measure, authorities have vacated five of the surrounding buildings deemed vulnerable to similar structural failure. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

According to Shimla Rural Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Manjeet Sharma, the collapsed building belonged to a woman named Ranjana and had already been vacated the previous night due to visible signs of structural distress.

'At around 8:00 AM, a five-storey building belonging to Smt. Ranjana collapsed. The building had been evacuated last night itself. There are three to four more buildings adjacent to it which are vulnerable. We've vacated all of them. Thankfully, there has been no loss of life,' SDM Sharma told reporters.

Sharma further said that the possible cause could be linked to ongoing four-lane construction (highway widening) work in the area being executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

'It appears the ground has loosened due to the highway construction work, especially due to heavy machinery being used for stone excavation. However, this is a technical issue, and we will only be able to confirm the exact reason after a detailed inquiry,' he said.

'Some stabilisation efforts were made by the company earlier, but they seemingly did not work. A civil engineering team will assess the structural safety of the remaining buildings. Those that are unsafe will remain vacated until further notice,' Sharma added.

The SDM also confirmed that under the Disaster Relief Manual, immediate assistance is being provided to affected residents. Ten families have been shifted to safer locations.

'As of now, we have shifted ten families, including both owners and tenants, from the five vacated buildings. Relief measures are underway. If the inquiry finds the company or NHAI responsible, compensation will be arranged accordingly,' Sharma said.

Meanwhile, residents have strongly blamed the highway widening project for the structural instability that led to the collapse. They allege that the contractor engaged by NHAI carried out excessive stone cutting and excavation, which weakened the land beneath residential buildings.

L. R. Kondal, a resident, shared a firsthand account of the situation and his concerns:

'You can see it live, sliding has already started right outside my building. The most shocking part is that the NHAI contractor dug up the area to extract stone, and this has completely destabilised everything,' he said, speaking to ANI on site.

'They kept working day and night. When the first slide happened, we approached them and asked them to stop, but they did nothing. Their facial expressions made it clear they weren't going to act. Now that the building has collapsed, everyone is panicking. My building has developed cracks too,' he added.

Kondal described the chaotic night the residents endured and said, 'We stayed awake all night in the rain, standing outside in the same clothes. We managed to rescue the elderly and children. All our belongings are still inside. We had already warned the family living in the collapsed building to vacate and remove their possessions, which they did.'

'There are still three to four houses that could collapse anytime. We've all been rendered homeless and are now sheltering wherever we can.' He said.

Residents are demanding accountability from the executing company and NHAI. The administration, including the local MLA and Cabinet Minister, Anirudh Singh, visited the site. Authorities have promised a fair inquiry and have begun a structural assessment of nearby buildings. Relief and rehabilitation efforts are ongoing. (ANI)