Mumbai: In a tragic incident, a 45-year-old man died after a Banyan tree fell on him near BDD chawl no. 89 in Worli. The local residents alleged that the trees in these areas were not trimmed before the monsoon, which took innocent lives. On May 13, Irfan Khan (35 years) died after a branch of Umbar tree fell on him near Hill road in Bandra.
According to local residents, a huge Banyan tree suddenly fell along with another tree (Gul Bhendi) at 9.30 am on a busy street near BDD Chawl no. 89 on Monday. A resident of BDD chawl no. 92, Amit Jagtap (45 years), who was passing from the road at the same time, got severely injured in the incident. The local residents immediately rushed him to Global hospital in Parel.
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However, he succumbed to his injuries at 5.30 pm. "Amit was working in a marketing department of a private firm. He was going to his office on a bike when branches of the trees fell on him. He sustained head and chest injuries and had to be operated in the hospital," said Amol Nikhalje, a local resident.
Amit, fondly called 'Pappya' by his friends, has been residing in BDD chawl since his birth. "He was well-educated and had vast work experience in the marketing field. His wife and eight-year-old son are in a state of shock after the tragic incident, said his friends. While Amit could not survive in the incident, Jayesh Vanjare (30 years), who has a small grocery shop near the tree, luckily escaped the mishap.
"I store vegetables and other stuff in this shop and sell them in the nearby market in the afternoon. As a daily routine, I took my stuff and went to market when I heard about the incident from my friends. While it was a lucky escape for me, my shop has completely collapsed. I could earn my bread and butter due to this shop," said Vanjare.
Prashant Kambale, another local resident said, "There are two schools nearby, so this area is always crowded with people. What if the incident occurs in the afternoon when the school leaves? The Banyan tree was around 100 years old and was not trimmed during this monsoon. We still don't understand how the trees suddenly collapsed when there was no wind in the morning."
Not just the Banyan tree but also another tree close to it, too, fell with branches of the Peepal tree, he claimed. In a similar incident in 2020, a woman died in a tree collapse incident in this area, said a local resident.
