Rains crack Shimla's Ridge

Shimla’s famous Ridge developed cracks on Tuesday due to heavy rains over the past week.

The crack is around 42 metres long and is only a few metres away from the historic Gaiety theatre and Municipal Corporation office, both of which are housed in Raj-era heritage buildings. The Ridge ground is located in the heart of Shimla and is a popular tourist destination.

Even as civic officials have been debating for years on handing over the restoration work to a construction agency, last monsoon the Ridge developed cracks which took months to restore.

In 2008, heavy rains triggered a major slide at the edge of the Ridge, wiping away 20 make-shift Tibetan refugee shops downhill and killing two.