17 June,2013 06:33 AM IST | | Iram Siddique
Two cars, which were parked near the 70-year-old tree, were damaged. No injuries were reported. However, it took the fire department officials over six hours to clear the road. The ageing tree was completely uprooted from the ground, as it could not contain the weight of its branches.
After the incessant rains, an old tree near KC College in Churchgate, unable to bear the weight of its branches, got uprooted from the ground and collapsed on the cars parked near it. Pic/Abhinav Kocharekar
The BMC had said that it had taken all necessary steps cutting dead trees and pruning others to prevent such accidents. "Thankfully it was a Sunday. Had it been any other working day, possibilities of loss of life were very high. This is a busy lane used by a lot of office-going people. Also, because of a college in the neighbourhood, a lot of students stroll around," said Shridhar Naik a resident of the area.
The locals blame the civic body for its inability to identify trees that are weak, as every year trees get uprooted during monsoon. According to the official statement given by the BMC there have been 32 cases of trees falling during monsoon in the city since June 1. On an average, every ward office receives at least five such complaints.
Sunday's incident also caused traffic jams that lasted until afternoon. "The traffic police had to divert vehicles as work of removing the uprooted tree was going on. Had the roots of the tree been below the building it could have caused sever damages to its foundation," said Arun Kumar, a resident of Roshera Apartment.
Residents have also been complaining about waterlogging since dead leaves from trees clog drains. Another resident said that they were thankful as the fire brigade reached the spot very quickly after the incident was reported. "They (fire department officials) came within minutes of the incident and started work almost immediately," said Mufadal Indoorwala, another resident who lives at Roshera Apartment.u00a0
