‘Civic body must pay damages to tree victims’
MUMBAI: Members of the Tree Authority are adamant on fixing the blame on BMC for uprooted trees and fallen branches injuring or even killing pedestrians. They want the civic authorities to own up their responsibility and pay compensation to the victims.
“Trees have uprooted and branches have broken down, damaging not only property but also ruining lives. The civic body is answerable for these incidents and should compensate the victims,” said Tree Authority member Niranjan Shetty.
Besides Antara Telang (18), a student of St Xavier’s College, who has lost her leg after a huge branch of a peepul tree fell on her at Sion’s Bansari Bhavan Housing Society and a traffic policeman, who was killed by a broken branch, another similar incident has come to light.
For over two months, 30-year-old Tamanna Bhojani has become almost immobile. She is not only bed-ridden and nursing multiple fractures but is also coping with the loss of her job at a Malad-based stock trading firm after a major accident.
On June 18, as she was headed for a grocery shop in the evening, a huge branch of a jamun tree fell on her, fracturing her spine. The tree is located a few metres from her home on Mathura Das Road. Ever since, rendered almost cripple, she has to visit Nanavati Hospital for regular MRI scans.
On Monday evening, as Bhojani was being taken to hospital for another of her MRI scans, TOI visited her. She had to be carried to the ambulance by her brother from her second-floor home and even neighbours are shocked at how the incident, which occurred for no fault of hers, had completely changed the entire family’s life. “She can barely move. She has only started to slightly turn on her back once in a while,” said a neighbour.
Bhojani’s brother, Chetan, said the family was still too traumatised to talk about the incident. “We only want everyone to know how shoddy pruning and dereliction of duties on the part of the authorities can wreak havoc on the life of a common man,” he said.
Hawkers on Mathura Das Road clearly remember the incident. “It had been raining incessantly that evening when all of a sudden, a huge branch of the jamun tree came crashing down on the girl. She was bleeding profusely and critically injured,” said a hawker.
Though residents of the area alleged that the BMC did not conduct pruning despite several complaints, Sanjog Kabre, assistant municipal commissioner of the ward, said the tree was healthy and was not even on the road; so they could not have been responsible. “The tree is on private premises with its branches growing out over the street. We have checked and found that it is not plagued by any disease,” Kabre added.
Meanwhile, civic officials said they would start issuing notices to housing societies if they notice any “dangerous tree” on their premises.