A Lecture cum-cinema hall was constructed on a terrace developed at the top of a hillock at a site located in the north-eastern part of India. At the time of development of the site, excavated soil was dumped on the slopes and retaining walls were constructed to retain the earth. After the first monsoon, the retaining walls gave way. Further distress in the vicinity of the building was noticed in the subsequent three years. The paper describes the details of the above failure, the investigations carried out and the remedial measures suggested
