MUMBAI: A preliminary probe report has revealed that the June 24 tree collapse near Fashion Street in south Mumbai, which killed two persons, could have been avoided had the rotten branch been trimmed.
The civic body has now issued show-cause notices to a junior tree officer and an assitant superintendent of gardens. A detailed inquiry has been ordered and the report may be ready in three weeks. The branch of the peepal tree had crashed on five people during heavy rainfall.
While one of the deceased, a passerby who hailed from Tamil Nadu, was declared dead immediately, another injured was declared dead late at night. Following the incident, the garden department had sought a report from the local garden staff.
The report states that the rotten branch was almost 25-30ft high and there was no way it could not have been spotted by the team that was supposed to trim trees. It also states that at present, the
BMC has no scientific technique to ascertain if the peepal tree’s branch have rotten from within. Among the other reasons stated for the crash in the report are wind speed, the continuous rain on the day of the incident and also, locals’ resistance to trim the tree.
Officials also pointed out that one of the deceased, Rajendra Kumar Singh (70), and his son, who was injured, were running a stall nearby without a licence. An official said that the tree whose branch fell was to supposed be cut fro road widening. Every year before monsoon, the civic body trims trees on municipal premises and the decision to prune branches is taken on the basis of a visual inspection. Additional municipal commissioner Vijay Singhal said the detailed inquiry has been initiated to fix responsibility. “We are undertaking all preventive measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur.
This year, we ensured adequate trimming was done before monsoon,” he said.
BMC building (File Photo)
