Houses, temple collapse in Joshimath’s Singhdhar

Singhdar (Uttarakhand) [India], January 14 (ANI): Several houses collapsed at Singhdhar in the Joshimath town of Uttarakhand in the midnight hours of January 2 and 3, sources said.

However, no lives were lost in these incidents, they added. According to sources, cracks at several houses and a nearby temple started widening, to the point where they eventually collapsed.

Speaking to ANI, Harish, a local, said, “It happened on January 2. It was around 2.30 am when we were sleeping. We heard a noise as the cracks on the walls opened up and big chunks of concrete started falling off.”

“We were scared and spent the night under an open sky. We were shifted to a government school nearby the day after,” he said.

“Many important documents and household items were destroyed. But thankfully, no lives were lost. Some hotels in Manohar Bagh, too, have developed big cracks,” Harish added.

Another local resident, Rishi Devi, said while his residence and many others had developed cracks for some time, the municipality refused to act saying it had no order from the higher authorities.

“Our house had developed cracks for some time. We had requested the municipality for help. But over a span of two days, on January 2 and 3, our house as well as others collapsed. A nearby temple, too, collapsed and we even lost our cattle. Both my sons are jobless now,” Rishi Devi told ANI.