Barely 24 hours after a 250-year-old tree fell inside the campus of Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, claiming the life of one student, a second tree came crashing down on the boundary wall of Government Model Middle School, Mani Majra, near Modern Housing Complex on Saturday. No one was injured in the incident. According to details, the school was shut, hence deserted, being the second Saturday, when the tree came crashing down around 5 pm. The school watchman noticed the tree fall and immediately informed the school principal, who further alerted the area municipal councillor and the horticulture department of the UT Administration. The tree which fell on Saturday was under the jurisdiction of the horticulture wing of the UT Municipal Corporation. “A major tragedy was averted today as the school was shut because it was the second Saturday and the incident took place in the evening. The tree was situated outside the school premises but it fell on the boundary wall. I got information about the incident from the watchman and informed the area councillor and other authorities. The tree is in a public park and our school shares the boundary with the park. No injuries were reported in the incident," a school teacher, requesting anonymity, said. Sources said that a team of the horticulture wing of Chandigarh Administration later rushed to spot later and started the process to clear the damaged tree. Junior engineer of UT's horticulture department, Baldev Raj, said, “We dispatched a team to remove the tree as soon as we received information about the incident. Heavy rainfall with gusty winds could be a reason behind the tree being uprooted. The area falls under the jurisdiction of the UT civic body but my team was already present in the area. The damaged tree will be removed within three hours.” Notably, hours after the death of Carmel Convent School student, Heerakshi, in Friday's tree collapse, Chandigarh Home Secretary, Nitin Yadav, had ordered a survey of all schools — both private and government — to identify vulnerable trees inside the premises. The UT administration had also swung into action and started pruning vulnerable trees located by the roadside on Saturday itself. At least five trees were pruned and two were chopped between Kala Gram light point and Housing Board light point on Saturday. Sources said, “The requests/suggestions for pruning these vulnerable trees had been pending for the last seven months.”
