KOLKATA: One person was seriously injured and three vehicles were damaged when a gulmohar tree got uprooted around 11.25pm on Sambhunath Pandit Street in Bhowanipore on Tuesday.
Kalighat Police, which is probing the case, said it was sheer “good luck” that a marriage procession had held up traffic on the road. Had it not been the case, the consequences of the accident could have been worse. The fact that the tree got uprooted without even a burst of strong winds left the KMC red-faced as it went about the entire Wednesday clearing the debris. Locals though claimed that without proper maintenance, at least two other trees in the vicinity is only awaiting a similar fate.
Keshav Prasad (27), a pedestrian from Bhowanipore Place, who was watching a band party perform at the marriage ceremony, got injured after the tree fell on him. He is admitted at the SSKM Hospital with head injuries. Two yellow taxis and a Maruti Eeco have been damaged.
Cops from local police and the disaster management group teams removed the tree to restore traffic movement. Later, KMC workers took over the task of removing the branches from the tree. No one from the KMC agreed to speak to TOI.
“This tree is at least seven-decade old. As a child, we used to take care of this tree and was often rebuked for trying to climb it. I had bought my taxi in 2010. Like any other day, it was parked at the Kasaipara crossing. I rushed out of my residence after my friends informed me that the taxi was completely damaged. When I saw it, I could hardly control my tears. The bonnet was crushed and the rear portion sustained extensive damages,” said Md Zumman (45), owner of one of the damaged cabs.
According to Pappu Roy and Sukesh Singh, two local residents aged over 70, rats pose a major challenge in the area. “The trees were guarded by a makeshift boundary earlier. Ever since it was removed two years ago, there was a lot of hue and cry and the rats moved in. We strongly believe better maintenance could have avoided the accident,” Roy said.
Kalighat Police, which is probing the case, said it was sheer “good luck” that a marriage procession had held up traffic on the road. Had it not been the case, the consequences of the accident could have been worse. The fact that the tree got uprooted without even a burst of strong winds left the KMC red-faced as it went about the entire Wednesday clearing the debris. Locals though claimed that without proper maintenance, at least two other trees in the vicinity is only awaiting a similar fate.
Keshav Prasad (27), a pedestrian from Bhowanipore Place, who was watching a band party perform at the marriage ceremony, got injured after the tree fell on him. He is admitted at the SSKM Hospital with head injuries. Two yellow taxis and a Maruti Eeco have been damaged.
Cops from local police and the disaster management group teams removed the tree to restore traffic movement. Later, KMC workers took over the task of removing the branches from the tree. No one from the KMC agreed to speak to TOI.
“This tree is at least seven-decade old. As a child, we used to take care of this tree and was often rebuked for trying to climb it. I had bought my taxi in 2010. Like any other day, it was parked at the Kasaipara crossing. I rushed out of my residence after my friends informed me that the taxi was completely damaged. When I saw it, I could hardly control my tears. The bonnet was crushed and the rear portion sustained extensive damages,” said Md Zumman (45), owner of one of the damaged cabs.
According to Pappu Roy and Sukesh Singh, two local residents aged over 70, rats pose a major challenge in the area. “The trees were guarded by a makeshift boundary earlier. Ever since it was removed two years ago, there was a lot of hue and cry and the rats moved in. We strongly believe better maintenance could have avoided the accident,” Roy said.
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