New Delhi, Jan. 11 -- Several families evacuated their homes after cracks developed in houses and roads near an under-construction four-lane National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) tunnel in the Chalaunthi area near Sanjauli in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

According to news agency PTI, around 15 families were rendered homeless overnight in the cold after two residential buildings and a hotel developed cracks in the Chaulanti area.

"Over 40 people from 15 families residing in two buildings and tourists and staff from a hotel vacated their buildings on Friday night after cracks developed in three buildings in the Chaulanti area," sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) (rural), Shimla told the PTI on Saturday.

The officer said the majority of th...