After tragedy, BMC says tree in private property, onus on owner to trim it

MUMBAI: The 91-year-old widow who was killed when the branch of an Ashoka tree fell on her at Banganga in Walkeshwar on Monday evening, sat at the same spot daily after her evening walk. On Monday too, Banganga resident Lila Sukhi, who had worked at Mantralaya, sat outside the grocery shop for a few minutes on her way back home from her walk around 6pm. “She used to come for a walk in the area and sit on a chair outside the grocery shop. On Monday, I was inside my shop when I heard a crash. On coming out, I found her lying injured,” Rajesh Gupta, a shopkeeper, said.

The BMC has said as the tree was located on a private property abutting the the road, trimming and pruning was the responsibility of the owner. The tree was located on the premises of Shree Kavale Math. An official said on October 30 last year, the BMC had given the trust permission to trim trees on its premises and then sent a reminder on November 15. A senior civic official said the trust had sought permission to trim trees, but later did not follow up on it by paying the charges to ensure the work was carried out by civic contractors. “However, there was no request for permission to trim the tree from which the branch fell on the woman,” he said .



When TOI contacted the trust manager P Patgaonkar, he said he had taken charge only a fortnight ago and would not be able to comment on the issue.

Describing events leading up to the crash, the owner of the shop outside which the victim would sit everyday, said, “A youth was sitting on a chair and got up to go to somewhere. In the meantime, Sukhi came and sat on the chair. Within a couple of minutes, a tree branch fell on her. She sustained severe injuries on her face, legs and arms.”

Gupta said a crowd gathered at the spot and some youths rushed Sukhi to a private hospital in Malabar Hill. Police was informed, and a team reached the hospital. Jaganath Vare, who was among those who rushed the woman to hospital, said, “From there, she was shifted to GT hospital in Fort.” According to a local, they were advised to take the woman to a government hospital as treatment there would be cheaper. Sukhi was declared dead at GT Hospital. Her body was handed over to the family after a postmortem. Malabar Hill police have registered a case of accidental death.

Sukhi’s sister Mahalaxmi Nayak (86), who had gone for the walk along with her, said, “I returned home early and asked Sukhi to come back soon. She told me that she would be back in a few minutes. Soon after I reached home, some boys came and said Sukhi had met with an accident. She was vomiting blood when she was being taken to GT Hospital.” Sukhi’s husband, who used to work for railways, died a decade ago.

Earlier in the day, three people were hurt after a tree fell on an autoat Kandarpada, Borivli (W), on Monday afternoon. Out of the three injured Gangaram Pal, 35, was admitted to Kandivali's Shatabdi Hospital, while Mithila Chakraborty and Deepika Chakraborty, 28, were admitted to a private hospital. Their condition is stable.

TIMES VIEW: This is the third instance in recent times of death caused by the collapse of a tree on private property. While the citizenry must be alert to the risks posed by old or weak trees everywhere, the BMC, rather than wait for a complaint—as is the norm for trees that are not at public places—may want to empower civic staff to carry out surveys and intervene wherever necessary. Life is sacred. Procedure should be in service to that end.