2 killed in tree fall incidents in Mumbai western suburbs

“The peepal tree was almost entirely decayed and must have fallen due to heavy rain and strong wind. The victim’s cousins told us that he was speech and hearing impaired due to which he could not call out for help that led to delay in his rescue,” said an official from the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, at Goregaon’s MG Road, Premlal Nirmal (30) was crushed to death by a dead palm tree that fell during the incessant rain. Nirmal was running a laundry business from a makeshift shed under the tree. He was taken to a private hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Rajesh Akre, assistant municipal commissioner of BMC’s P/South ward, which encompasses Goregaon, said, “The site where the incident occurred was an unauthorised structure from where the victim was running a business of ironing of clothes. One more injury was reported in the incident.”

According to the civic body, 23 trees fell between Tuesday and Wednesday until 8.00 am with the maximum number of incidents in the western suburbs at 14, followed by eight in the eastern suburbs. Meanwhile, the island city witnessed four instances.

The BMC bulletin on monsoon onset had warned Mumbaikars to not stand beneath a tree. Data furnished by the civic body showed that between June 1 and June 19, 147 trees and 253 branches had broken in the city.

“The BMC has almost completed its pre-monsoon preparations by surveying and pruning high-risk trees in the metropolis. The remaining trees that are less dangerous will be pruned scientifically, for which the garden department has taken full precautions. However, the Parks Department has appealed to Mumbaikars not to stand under the trees during rain,” read the notice.

Ahead of monsoon, the BMC had issued notices to 4,622 government and private entities, asking them to trim overgrown trees on their compounds with prior permission from the the civic body, before May 31.

The IMD’s Santacruz observatory recorded 37 mm rainfall while the coastal observatory in Colaba registered 24 mm rainfall as of 5.30 pm Wednesday.

Besides this, BMC’s rainfall monitoring system showed that the eastern suburbs received maximum rain at 84.4 mm, followed closely by western suburbs at 83.02 mm and island city at 31 mm in 24 hours till by 5.30 pm Wednesday.