Woman crushed by tree dies, husband blames BMC for negligence

Kanchan Rajatnath

Had the BMC paid heed to a Chembur resident's complaint to cut down a dead coconut tree, a tragedy could have been averted. On Thursday morning, a 50-year-old yoga teacher got crushed under a tree that collapsed on her. After being in a comatose state for two days, she succumbed to her injuries on Saturday morning. The Vasant Park police station is now refusing to file an FIR against the BMC who refused to cut the tree despite a request being filed for the same in February this year.

On Saturday morning, Kanchan Rajatnath, a former Doordarshan anchor and yoga teacher, was returning home after her yoga class, a routine she's been following for several years, when the tree collapsed. On seeing this, passersby rushed to her aid.

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Kanchan's husband, Raja Rajatnath, feels only the BMC is to blame for this tragedy. "In February this year, the owner of the tree had approached the BMC with the request to cut it down because it was a dead tree. However, they refused and simply trimmed the branches. Due to the torrential rain in the last two days, the tree's roots got weak and it fell," he said. He adds that the owner showed him all the paperwork that was submitted to the municipality regarding the matter. "He had paid Rs 1,380 for the cutting," he said.

Watch the video of the accident below

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Her last rites were performed on Saturday evening. Now, Rajat wants to file an FIR against BMC for their negligence, but the Vasant Park police station is refusing to do so. "They won't take my complaint against BMC though it stands for death caused due to the negligence of the corporation," he said.

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When midday tried to contact JV Pardeshi, superintendent of Gardens, BMC, he refused to comment on it.