Himachal Pradesh: Several buildings collapse in Kullu’s Anni town due to landslides

In the Anni town of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, around eight buildings that had gotten cracks due to recent heavy rains collapsed on Thursday. This led to a lot of dust and debris filling the air. As of now, there have been no reported injuries or fatalities.

The buildings, which had shops, banks, and other businesses, had started showing cracks about four to five days ago, according to Naresh Verma, who was there as the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) at the scene.

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 Highway 305 in Anni have also been vacated as a precautionary measure, the official added.

The video clip of the landslide and the mayhem it unleashed went viral on social media. The police confirmed that the viral video is real. In the video, many houses in Anni town of Kullu district are seen falling down like a stack of cards.

According to officials, there were no immediate reports of any casualties or injuries in the incident so far. "Several houses collapsed due to a landslide in the Anni town of Kullu district," a police officer told ANI.

More information is anticipated. The mountainous state has experienced extensive damage and loss of lives due to heavy rain, landslides, and cloudbursts it caused. Additionally, heavy rainfall in the district damaged the Kullu-Mandi Highway on Thursday, as shared by an official.

Numerous vehicles are stuck on the road.

"There is a traffic jam stretching to nearly 5-10 kilometres. We have nothing to eat or drink. People are starving here. The snarl should be cleared soon," a commuter told ANI.

An official said the Public Works Department was trying to restore the normal flow of traffic at the earliest.

"The road connecting Kullu and Mandi has been damaged. An alternative route via Pandoh has also been damaged. Hence, the movement of traffic is suspended for now," Sakshi Verma, Superintendent of Police, Kullu, said.Earlier, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert, predicting heavy to very rainfall in Himachal Pradesh over two days starting Thursday.

The state has reported 113 landslides this monsoon season. A total of 224 lives have been lost in the monsoon fury in Himachal while another 117 died in rain-related accidents so far, stated a government bulletin earlier. According to the latest data shared by the state government, the total loss to the coffers from the ongoing rain fury has reached Rs 8014.61 crore since June 24, when monsoon arrived in the state.