15-tonne boulder lands on house; none hurt

Hyderabad: A major tragedy was averted when a house wall took the impact of a 15-tonne boulder that rolled down in a landslide at Rani Avanthi Bai Bhavan in Dhoolpet. Luckily, no one was injured in the incident.

The owner of the house, Rajesh Singh, said that the incident occurred around 10 am on Tuesday, when the family was preparing breakfast. He said, "My wife was preparing breakfast when she heard a huge sound and immediately she took the kids and ran out of house to safety. The rock came crashing down and hit the wall. They luckily escaped by a whisker or else it could have resulted in loss of lives." He has been living in this house for almost 15 years and for the last 3 years they have been witnessing rocks falling from the hilltop. Mangalhat division corporator Parmeshwari Singh said, "Heavy rock from the upper part of Ganga Bowli has fallen on the house of Rajesh Singh in the Dilawar Gunj area. The kitchen room and terrace boundary wall and surrounding part of the residence has been damaged."

There are several houses in the Mangalhat area which have been constructed on the hilltop. During heavy rains the boulders loosen up due to soil erosion and they slide downhill. Luckily, no casualties and no injuries have been reported. The police and the DRF officials had advised the house owner to evacuate the house as there was a risk of more avalanches.