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.