Torrential rainfall in Himachal wreaks havoc, 8 buildings collapse in Kullu

At least eight buildings that had developed cracks and were declared unsafe following recent rains collapsed in Anni area of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Thursday, throwing up large clouds of dust and debris. There were no casualties.

The buildings housing shops, banks and other commercial establishments had developed cracks four-five days ago, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Anni, Naresh Verma, who was at the spot, said.

The buildings were declared unsafe and vacated recently, he said.

The assessment of damage is being done and some other unsafe buildings along the National Highway305 in Anni have also been vacated as a precautionary measure, the official added.

As many as 120 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this month while a total of 238 people have died and 40 are still missing since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 24.

Himachal saw three major spells of heavy rains this Monsoon. The first on July 9 and 10 led to large-scale destruction in Mandi and Kullu districts. Shimla and Solan districts were hit during the second spell on August 14 and 15 and Shimla city suffered heavy damage in the third spell on Tuesday night.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday said that Rs 165.22 crore had been released to all the deputy commissioners and the line departments in the state for the restoration of damaged works.

He has claimed that the state has suffered losses of Rs 10,000 crore so far due to the heavy rains.