Heavy rains in Hyderabad claim lives of 4 children

Hyderabad: Heavy rains lashed Hyderabad on Monday night, killing four children and injuring four other members of the same family when their house collapsed, and damaging one of the minarets of the historic Charminar mosque, an icon of the city. Authorities said the damage to the minaret was superficial and could be repaired.

Decorative stucco work on the south-eastern minaret of Charminar fell down late last night. Police and archaeological department officials said that as many as six floral pieces had fallen onto an adjacent temple and a passing vehicle, creating panic.

Traffic came to a halt as rumours spread that Charminar was in danger. Police surrounded the area and kept the people away for some time. Debris also fell on a passing car.

However, director of state archaeology Channa Reddy ruled out any major threat to the four-century-old monument built by Quli Qutub Shah. He said the damage was superficial and could be repaired.

This is the second time that a piece of Charminar has come crashing down, raising questions about the way the Archaeological Survey of India was looking after the monument.

Meanwhile, four children were killed and five others were injured when a house collapse in the Phool Bagh area of Chandrayangutta in Hyderabad last night. A wall of the asbestos-roofed house abutting an overflowing drain collapsed, bringing down the roof.

Four of driver Mohammad Yousuf's children were buried in the debris. They have been identified as one-year-old Hina, two- year-old Suhail, four-year-old Taher and nine-year-old Sabiha. Three more daughters and the couple were admitted to Osmania Hospital after they were rescued by local residents. Yousuf's family was renting the house.

Official response

On hearing about the incident, local legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi, Mayor Kartika Reddy and other officials of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation rushed to the scene. The mayor held the local officials responsible for not taking action to demolish the unsafe house.

Minister for Municipal Administration A. Ramanarayana Reddy announced an ex gratia payment of Rs100,000 (Dh7,840) for the family of the victims. He said that the administration was on alert in view of the continuing rains.

"We have identified 200 low-lying areas in the city and formed seven emergency squads to deal with any situation," he said.

The city is in disarray as the rains, which started at around 8pm, continued throughout the day on Monday.