India, Feb. 3 -- 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 sai...