“I escaped tree falling on me by fraction of a second”

Pune: A fraction of a second late and I would have been trapped under a huge tree that fell on a street last night in Karvenagar

Pune: A fraction of a second late and I would have been trapped under a huge tree that fell on a street last night in Karvenagar. I still feel stunned when I think of how narrowly I escaped from a mishap that could have been deadly,” said Hindustan Times photographer Pratham Gokhale.

The fallen tree near Warje ward office occupied the entire width of the road. (PRATHAM GOKHALE/HT)

Sharing the incident, Gokhale said, “I was out of my house to buy vegetables on my two-wheeler on Wednesday evening. Around 9.45 pm, I stopped my two-wheeler in front of the vegetable vendor near Warje ward office. As soon as I parked the vehicle and walked a step towards the vendor, I heard a sound similar to a thunderstorm and, within a fraction of a second, a huge tree fell in my direction and landed just 2 inches behind me. Fortunately, I escaped the fall and was just left with dust and leaves all over my body.

“If I would have taken one extra second to cross the street to go to the vegetable vendor, or if I would have been standing 2 inches behind where I was when the tree fell, I would have got trapped under the fallen tree.

“There was neither a sign of wind nor it was raining, yet the tree got uprooted. The incident raises question about the regular audit of dangerous trees as Pune has reported deaths and injuries caused by being trapped under fallen trees and branches in the past.

“I was fortunate enough to escape unhurt, but I wonder if there are any more such trees across the city which require attention and maintenance. Authorities should carry out regular inspection of trees to rule out the possibility of such incidents from happening.”

Meanwhile, Prashant Ranpise, chief fire officer, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said, “We prune branches of trees that could fall and cause personal injury or property damage after regular inspection. We ensure that necessary NOCs (no objection certificate) are issued only after due diligence”

With inputs by Nadeem Inamdar