The return of the monsoons in the city has also triggered a series of tree collapse incidents. In one such incident, a 50-year-old man was seriously injured after a huge tree fell on him in Goregaon (west) on Thursday afternoon.
According to civic officials, the incident occurred at around 12.30 pm, when an old ladyfinger tree suddenly fell on Samad Shaikh, who was passing by on a bike near Sejal Park in Motilal Nagar.
Fire officials said that Mr Shaikh suffered several injuries to his head. “He was first taken to Siddharth Hospital. However, his family later decided to move him to Kokilaben Hospital,” said a fire official.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claimed that the concerned tree was trimmed before Ganeshotsav. However, civic officials refused to divulge the reason for its collapse.
An official of the P-South ward on condition of anonymity said, “The tree was trimmed only recently. It had become too old and its roots were weak.” According to civic officials, as many as 18,750 trees have been trimmed by the BMC as a part of its pre-monsoon preparedness. In addition to this, 711 dead or dangerous trees have also been hacked.
The civic data said that in around the 11,000 tree collapse incidents that occurred over the past eight years, 21 people lost their lives, leaving over 120 persons injured.