A tree collapsed in Mulund injuring two youths on Friday night. The peepal tree, allegedly in a decayed state, fell and crashed on the injured while they were on a motorcycle.
According to officials, the incident happened in the Mulund Colony area, near Jai Bharat College, at around 11:15 on Friday night.
Residents' Request for Tree Maintenance, Letter Written To BMC In 2018
Years ago, in 2018, a local of Mulund Colony had written a letter to the Assistant Municipal Commissioner of the ‘T’ ward. The FPJ has a copy of the letter, which said, “Tree adjustment to our needs, cutting to protect our house from getting damaged as some of the branches have already been leaning towards our entrance and are on the verge of falling on our roof.” In the letter, the resident had urged the BMC to “cut or trim” the tree.
Tree Collapses Causing Grievous Injuries To Two
On Friday night, Hitesh Saste (30), a resident of Lalbaug and Tanvi Kale (28) of Thane, were on the bike, passing by the lanes of Jai Bharat College, when suddenly the whole tree came down, crashing on them. Soon after the incident, BMC’s garden department officials reached the spot and during the preliminary investigation, they found that the tree had decayed within, which may have caused the fall.
The injured were first taken to MT Agarwal hospital, later were shifted to a private hospital. Saste sustained severe head injury, while Kale injured her leg, which led to fracture and she needed an emergency operation, said Mulund police officials, who injured the family members of the injured after shifting them to the hospital.
Activist Calls For Action
Sandeep Vare, Social Activist & resident of T ward, who was present on the spot, said, “There was neither wind nor rain, the municipal tree officers should pay attention and prune the trees along the main road. There are residential areas, schools, hospitals, and colleges along the main road, and also children’s exams are underway. This incident has made the residents of Mulund anxious because if the trees have started to fall now, in the summer season, what will happen during monsoon? The ‘T’ ward should take this seriously and finish the work of cutting trees that are in dangerous condition.”
No Action Taken By Officials Until Now
The Mulund police have not yet taken any complaint in the matter, however, after the probe by BMC, necessary offences will be considered if required, said officials.
