7th July 2012
A branch of a tree at Malad (W), which houses a temple and which the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had declared dangerous around three years ago, fell on Friday morning.
The disaster management cell of the BMC said no one was injured when a branch fell outside the railway station in Malad (W) around 8am. But locals claimed that a person received minor injuries, who was then treated at a nearby hospital.
An official from P (north) ward office said the tree was immediately trimmed after the incident. “We rushed to the spot and found that two other branches needed to be trimmed. So, we attended to them immediately.”
The official claimed that the tree needs to be cut down, but locals have been fighting tooth and nail against it. “The tree was declared dangerous around three years ago. The tree authority also gave the green light to cut it down. But locals are opposing this, citing religious sentiments. Illegal hawkers are also protesting to save their stalls.”
The tree, which is in the middle of the road that leads to SV Road, houses a temple and around 10 illegal stalls. It leads a major traffic bottleneck during peak hours.
Ganesh Ratnapur, a trustee of the temple, however, claimed that they hadn’t received any notice from the BMC stating that the tree is dangerous and needs to be cut down.
Voicing the sentiments of several locals, a hawker said, “The temple has been here for last 100 years and is a sacred place. We won’t let the BMC cut the tree as it is not dangerous.”
News from DNA
A branch of a tree at Malad (W), which houses a temple and which the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had declared dangerous around three years ago, fell on Friday morning.
The disaster management cell of the BMC said no one was injured when a branch fell outside the railway station in Malad (W) around 8am. But locals claimed that a person received minor injuries, who was then treated at a nearby hospital.
An official from P (north) ward office said the tree was immediately trimmed after the incident. “We rushed to the spot and found that two other branches needed to be trimmed. So, we attended to them immediately.”
The official claimed that the tree needs to be cut down, but locals have been fighting tooth and nail against it. “The tree was declared dangerous around three years ago. The tree authority also gave the green light to cut it down. But locals are opposing this, citing religious sentiments. Illegal hawkers are also protesting to save their stalls.”
The tree, which is in the middle of the road that leads to SV Road, houses a temple and around 10 illegal stalls. It leads a major traffic bottleneck during peak hours.
Ganesh Ratnapur, a trustee of the temple, however, claimed that they hadn’t received any notice from the BMC stating that the tree is dangerous and needs to be cut down.
Voicing the sentiments of several locals, a hawker said, “The temple has been here for last 100 years and is a sacred place. We won’t let the BMC cut the tree as it is not dangerous.”
News from DNA
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