Ladakh: 450-year-old-building collapses in Leh as heavy rainfall lashes region

Leh (Ladakh) [India]: A 450-year-old building collapsed in the Kharyouk area of Leh city in the union territory of Ladakh due to incessant rainfall in the region on Sunday evening.

“This building is about 450 years old. The building has collapsed mainly due to the heavy rainfall in the region,” Haider, a local told media.

He further said that a few old houses have also been damaged in the area due to heavy rains.

Leh recorded 14.5 mm of rainfall during the last 9 hours on Sunday, as per IMD.

“This time it rained a bit longer resulting in damage to the old buildings. Water started to leak into rooms,” Haider said.

He said that there was a cloud burst in 2010, “But the damage was not so much. However, this time a lot of damage has been done to the old buildings”.

Metrological Centre Ladakh on Sunday said that the widespread rainfall and snow are likely to continue over higher reaches of the region.

“IMD issued Red color Warning for Ladakh for nxt 24 hrs. Snowfall in Summer Peak.. Widespread Rain/Snow (over higher reaches) likely to continue for nxt 24 hrs in Ladakh. Stay Alert,” it tweeted on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Srinagar National Highway remained closed on Monday after a portion of a road collapsed in Ramban district due to heavy rainfall in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mohammed Jahangir, a local on his way to the area, said roads were being washed away in the downpour in the region and there are no adequate arrangements made by the administration for the visitors.

“We are facing a lot of problems. We have to walk a lot. Recently a road was washed away. We had to walk around 1-2 kms in Makarkot and now we have walked another 3-4 kms. As we reached Ramban, another road was washed away. There is no arrangement for the public. The administration should stop people from coming to Ramban stretch or else make necessary arrangements for them to proceed further,” he told media.