Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has blamed indiscriminate construction works, poor drainage systems, and “Bihari architects” for the destruction faced by the state due to heavy rains.

“People construct houses without applying scientific methods. In recently constructed buildings, the drainage system is very poor. People believe they are draining the water without knowing that it is going nowhere but into the hills, making them fragile. Shimla is more than one and a half centuries old, and its drainage system was excellent. Now there are buildings in the nallas (runlets). The houses which are collapsing these days have not gone through the standards of structural engineering. The migrant architects (masons), whom I call ‘Bihari architects’, come here and construct floor after floor. We do not have local masons,” the CM was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

“Our secretariat is a nine storey building; the building of Advanced Study at Himachal University, Summer Hill, is an eight storey building. There was no technology when these buildings were constructed, but structuring was there. We have never heard of these buildings being in danger, ever,” he added.

Sukhu also blamed the faulty cutting of rocks to widen highways as a reason for landslides. “There is a way to cut the hills. Hills are always cut in slopes at an angle of 45 degrees, 60 degrees, etc., but not at 90 degrees, as was done at many locations between Kalka and Shimla,” he said.

Commenting on the four-landing by the NHAI, Sukhu said, “Tunnels are the only viable and feasible way to tackle the vehicle pressure on this stretch. Britishers built over a hundred tunnels to establish rail links between Kalka and Shimla. Tunnels have been standing since then. Making tunnels is a very costly affair, but NHAI should not bother about the costs.”

More than 70 people have died and more than 1,000 homes have been damaged in landslides and flash floods following heavy rains in the state.