Another man injured after tree collapse in Vikhroli

In another incident of a tree collapse endangering a human life, 22-year-old Vinay Yadav was crushed under a tree inside the Godrej Colony at Vikhroli (East).

In another incident of a tree collapse endangering a human life, 22-year-old Vinay Yadav was crushed under a tree inside the Godrej Colony at Vikhroli (East). Vinay, a fitter working with Godrej, was on his way back home from work on Wednesday when the tree fell, seriously injuring him. He is currently admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

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This is the second such incident in the locality in the last three months. In July this year, another resident of the colony had died after a tree had collapsed on her, sending her in a coma.

Vinay’s father Ramnath Yadav said, “He was on his way after finishing his training sessions when the incident occurred on Wednesday. We are all hoping for his recovery.” The family resides in a one-room kitchen flat at Wagle Estate in Thane (West). Ramnath refused to further elaborate on the incident, but a family friend said that since Vinay had recently started work at Godrej, anything said against the company could jeopardise his job.

Hindustan Times has been carrying a series of reports on how the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) callous attitude and outdated tree pruning mechanism was taking a heavy toll on people’s lives. On August 16, 19-year-old Antara Telang lost her right leg when a branch from a peepal tree came crashing down on her in Sion. A week later, 30-year-old Tamanna Bhojani’s backbone was crushed and several vertebrae fractured when a branch from a jamun tree fell on her in Kandivli.

A resident of Godrej Colony, who did not wish to be named, said, “The colony as such has a lot of green cover. The recent spate of incidents have made it scary for us to even venture out of our homes because the pathway is strewn with trees on both sides.” The colony being a private property and with residents being employees, most locals are tightlipped about the incidents. The BMC, too, has pleaded helplessness. “Since the incident occurred inside a private property, the civic body has no role to play in it. Neither in regulating the trimming, nor in compensating the victim”, said Chandrashekhar Rokade, deputy municipal commissioner (Gardens).

Despite repeated attempts authorities from Godrej could not be contacted. Some personnel from the corporate communications department of Godrej said they weren’t aware of any such incident.