Mumbai: Another death due to tree collapse, third in 2 days

A youth lost his life in a tree collapse in Byculla on Thursday

In the past two days, three individuals have lost their lives due to tree collapses. One incident occurred in Malad, another in Goregaon, and the most recent one in Byculla on Thursday, where a 22-year-old lost his life. Rehman Khan, who was taken to JJ hospital, was pronounced ‘brought dead,' while Rizwan Khan, 20, is currently receiving treatment. BMC officials reported that a large banyan tree got uprooted around 2.30 am on the Oil Mill premises in Byculla, falling on a hut where the two individuals were trapped. They were later rescued by firefighters.

These accidents, unfortunately, occur every monsoon in Mumbai. "In such unfortunate incidents, the families are typically provided an ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 lakh," said Dnyandev Mundhe, BMC's deputy superintendent of gardens (Tree Authority). Ravi Raja, the former Congress corporator and opposition leader in the BMC, while talking to mid-day, asked why the municipal corporation is accepting these incidents as an annual occurrence during the monsoon.

Raja mentioned that he had previously raised this issue with the civic body. "We require arborists (tree surgeons) in every zone. BMC spends crores on unnecessary beautification projects. Instead, they could allocate funds to appoint arborists," he suggested. In 2021, BMC's garden department appointed an arborist, Vaibhav Raje, for the D ward on a short-term basis. "As far as I remember, we assessed around 100 to 125 trees in the ward and provided a detailed report highlighting various tree issues and potential solutions," Raje said.

However, the initiative did not progress further. Meanwhile, Mundhe mentioned that the report submitted by Raje had its flaws. "We had numerous discussions about it and decided not to pursue it," he explained, stating that the garden department possesses its own team of experts and doesn't require arborists.

While BMC's garden department conducts pruning activities before the monsoon to prevent such incidents, it has not been entirely successful in avoiding them. "We cannot completely eliminate tree falls, but to minimise them, a thorough assessment of all trees several months before the monsoon is necessary," Raje emphasised.

Describing the role of an arborist in preventing tree collapses, Raje mentioned that it involves evaluating tree quality and identifying high-risk or high-density areas. "Municipal corporations need to possess this data. Even the current pruning methods lack scientific precision; experts should be appointed to oversee these activities," he suggested.

On the other hand, Dr Sashirekha Sureshkumar, a former member of the BMC's Tree Authority, highlighted that arbitrary concreting has weakened trees in certain parts of the city, rendering them susceptible to collapse. "Trees planted without adequate soil space are choked at the roots and suffocated," she explained. She further emphasised, "A heavy shower is all it takes for some of these trees to fall." One solution she proposed is to dechoke the trees by removing the concrete or tar from their roots and providing them with more soil or mud.

22 years
Age of man who lost his life in Byculla on Thursday