A 47-year-old security guard has been in a vegetative state for 20 days after being injured by part of a wall that fell due to the negligence of workers hired by the BMC to cut tree branches ahead of the monsoon. The kin of the man, Prem Aarya, claims neither the civic body nor the contractor whose workers were trimming the branches, have offered help or compensation.

The Byculla police have booked the contractor and unknown workers but no arrests have been made so far. The incident occurred around 3.30 pm on May 30 when Aarya was on duty in the compound of the Zubera Terrace bungalow at Sant Savata Marg in Byculla East. According to the police, while a tree was being trimmed outside the premises, a branch fell down, dislodging cement blocks, which hit Prem in the head. The impact was so severe that the guard lost consciousness immediately and started bleeding profusely. He was rushed to the nearby Masina Hospital by onlookers.