Monsoon chaos in Himachal: Five-storey building collapses in Shimla, cloudburst sweeps away cowshed in Rampur

As monsoon remained active in Himachal Pradesh, news of rain-induced damages, building collapse, landslides and road blockades poured in on Monday.

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A five-storey building collapsed in Bhattakufer in the suburbs of Shimla on Monday morning, while several cows from a shed washed away in the cloudburst in Rampur. The building at Mathu Colony on the road to Chamiyana Super Speciality Hospital caved in, albeit without casualties as the district administration, sensing grave risk, had already evacuated the inmates. However, two adjoining buildings were also endangered.

"We vacated the building on Sunday night as the land was sliding after Saturday's rain. The building collapsed around 8.15 am on Monday morning," said its owner Ranjana Verma, adding that a four-lane road construction had endangered the structure but no measures were taken to ensure its safety. According to Chamiyana gram panchayat Up Pradhan Yashpal Verma, cracks had developed in the building last year but officials of the company constructing the kaithlighat-Dhalli four-lane road had assured that the building was safe.