Mumbai: Around 57 trees and branches collapsed in the first heavy rainfall recorded in the city on Sunday night. The tree collapse incidents in the last few years have claimed several lives. In the wake of such incidents, the BMC has urged citizens to avoid standing under trees during heavy rains. The civic body has put posters at several places in the city to alert the citizens.
As part of their monsoon preparedness, 22,334 trees and branches were pruned as well as 433 dead or infested trees were removed last month. In addition to this, BMC issued notices to 4,909 establishments urging timely completion of tree trimming activities in both private and government-owned areas. However, several incidents of trees and branches falling due to gusty winds were recorded in the last week.
"During heavy rain and gusty winds, the risk of tree or branch collapse increases. Additionally, the possibility of lightning strikes cannot be ignored. Therefore, citizens should avoid standing under trees for their own safety," emphasized the garden department in a statement released on Tuesday.
The contractual labourers appointed by the garden department carry out the trimming of trees along the side of roads and in public places in the city. However, the responsibility of the trees on housing society premises or government properties, and private land is shifted on to the owner of the land by the BMC.
The civic body has requested the citizens to contact the concerned ward or BMC's helpline 1916, if they wish to prune dangerous trees on private land. According to the tree census conducted in 2017, the BMC oversees approximately 29.75 lakh trees. Out of these, 15.51 lakh are located on private premises, 10.67 lakh on government premises, and 1.86 lakh trees line the roadsides.
