India, Sept. 7 -- At least nine houses in a locality of Srinagar town in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal district have developed cracks, with residents blaming the damage on blasting carried out during excavation work for a tunnel for the under-construction Rishikesh-Karnaprayag railway project.

Srinagar sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Nupur Verma said a meeting of the concerned departments has been convened to find a resolution. "All departments, including RVNL (executing agency of the project), will soon hold discussions to address the issue," she said.

Vasudev Kandari, a local BJP leader whose house in Teachers' Colony - barely 200 metres from the tunnel site - was damaged, said, "We could feel vibrations and hear loud blasts. The minor ...