Tree, building fall in MMR; at least 1 dies

Mumbai: The city witnessed yet another fatal tree falling incident and building collapse this monsoon on Tuesday. A thirty-one-year-old man was killed and two others, including his wife, sustained serious injuries after a tree branch fell on the auto-rickshaw in which they were travelling at 2.55 pm  — the third such death in the past few months—while a portion of a three-storey building in Rasulbagh, Bhiwandi, came tumbling down around 10 pm. Five persons were suspected to be trapped at the time of going to press.

The first incident took place on Guru Govind Singh Road in Mulund Colony when the branch of a Peepal tree fell on an auto-rickshaw, killing Ravi Shah who was seated in the vehicle. The auto driver, Chandrabhan Gupta (40), is in a critical condition and is being treated at Sion Hospital. Shah's wife Urvi (27) has been admitted in a Mulund hospital and is stable.

After the incident, the trio was rushed to the civic-run Mulund Agarwal Hospital. An on-duty medical officer Dr Nikita Bhot said, "Out of the three patients, auto driver Gupta is critical as he has severe brain injury. Another male passenger identified as Ravi Shah was declared brought dead and the woman Urvi Shah (27) is stable but under observation."

According to the disaster management department, the incident occurred around 2.55 pm and soon after, an ambulance and agencies were mobilised to the spot. The rickshaw driver and two passengers were in the vehicle at the time of incident.

"The tree trimming work was underway on the Govind Singh Road two to three days ago, but we received complaints about precarious trees on the LBS Marg, and thus the staff was diverted there," said Neil Somaiya, area councillor.

He added, "Since it was a public road, it took a while to complete trimming work. There is only one agency appointed for the entire ward."  

The Asian Age tried contacting Kishore Gandhi, assistant municipal commissioner of 'T' ward, but he remained unavailable for comment.

There has been an increase in tree falling incidents since the onset of the monsoon. Last month, a 74-year-old man was declared dead after a tree fell on him at M.G. road near Metro Cinema in South Mumbai. Similarly, a 90-year-old woman died after a tree crushed her to death at Banganga in June.

In the second incident, Fire Department officers reached the spot around 10.30 pm, after which three persons were rescued. A team of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) moved to the mishap spot, according to a news agency.