Couple injured as tree falls on them

SURAT: A couple on a two-wheeler had a narrow escape when a tree fell on them during its trimming by workers of Surat Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) garden department in Bhatar here on Monday.

The incident occurred on main road near Ashirwad Palace on Bhatar Road. The garden department staffers were trimming a Gulmohar tree, which stood precariously on the main road. During the exercise, the tree fell on a couple passing on a two-wheeler from there. The civic staffers had asked people to keep away yet the mishap happened. The couple sustained minor injuries, sources said.

SMC garden superintendent Dr SJ Gautam said, “It was a mistake on the part of our staffers that they did not place barricades there. A staff worker was standing on the road to keep commuters away, but the couple on the two-wheeler emerged suddenly and just then the tree fell on them. The tree had dried up and would have fallen any day. Therefore, we decided to trim it before uprooting it.”