One person killed, five others rescued after building collapse near Joshimath

One person was killed while five others were rescued after a building collapsed at Helang near Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district late on Tuesday evening. State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said they pulled one body from the rubble and search was on to rescue another person buried under the debris.

SDRF inspector Harak Singh said the seven people who lived in the building worked at a nearby crusher unit on the banks of the Alaknanda River. “One of them, Anmol, who was in his 20s, has died. Five people were rescued and hospitalised while efforts were on to rescue one trapped person.”

The building collapse site is around 13 km from Joshimath, where 868 structures have developed cracks and 181 have been declared unsafe so far. This month, five families from Joshimath’s Sunil Ward were shifted to relief camps amid fear of further instability of structures due to heavy rains. Residents met district magistrate Himanshu Khurana in June to discuss threats to the town during the monsoon season.

Joshimath residents, who were scheduled to relaunch their agitation on Tuesday on the occasion of Independence Day demanding their rehabilitation under the banner of Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (JBSS), deferred it. A Mahapanchayat (grand assembly) has been convened on August 21. The affected families plan to stage daily sit-ins from the following day.

The residents suspended their 107-day agitation after chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami assured them of concrete action. The assurance came after the Samiti called for the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway blockade on the inaugural day of the Badrinath Yatra on April 27. The Samiti organised day-long protests over three subsequent months to remind the government of its promises. JBSS convenor Atul Satil said they have been forced to relaunch the agitation because they have been deceived.