HYDERABAD: A portion of Gangaram Nivas building — a heritage site at Holmstead Hall — adjacent to the Mukhi House Incline collapsed as Hyderabad, like many other cities and towns of the interoir Sindh, received a moderate spell of monsoon rain on Saturday evening.
No one was injured by the fall of the debris, which fell on the street that runs parallel to the rear outer wall of the building.
Soon after the incident, access to the locality housing the building was closed to people till the removal of the debris. Panic gripped the area as the debris fell with a thud.
Assistant Commissioner City Noor Hussain said that a small upper part of building collapsed amid a dust storm and rainfall.
Shops and godowns located in the building were closed to avoid any loss, he said.
A Culture department official, Rukunul Din Qureshi, said that shops were sealed so that debris could be removed. No residence is located in the building, he said.
The first rainfall of the current monsoon in Hyderabad city broke a long spell of severe heat. It was followed by massive power breakdown the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) region as the dust storm preceded rain.
People have been experiencing severe heat since June.
Atmosphere on Saturday remained suffocating until the rainfall brought a pleasant change in the weather.
The Met office at the airport recorded 10mm rain and its city office 5mm rain. The highest temperature at the airport office was recorded at 40.2 degree Celsius and the city office at 40 degree Celsius.
The dust storm that started at 5:40pm persisted till 6:10pm with a speed of 40 nautical miles. Its speed was recorded at 30 nautical miles northeast at the airport office, starting at 5:50pm and ending at 6:05pm.
The city remained without power supply since 5:45pm till late in the evening.
A Hesco spokesman confirmed that due to rainfall and dust storm, 355 feeders out of 722 remained without power supply. In Hyderabad, 157 11kV feeders out of 166 remained without electricity. He said that restoration work would begin once rain stopped. He advised consumers to observe precautions on roads and streets during rain to avoid electrical shock.
Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2026