BENGALURU: Two families lost their breadwinners on Friday when a tree fell on their car crushing them to death. The families refused to take the bodies home on Saturday till Mayor G Padmavathi arrived. She arrived late in the afternoon as she was inaugurating a community hall in Jnana Bharathi premises, and assured compensation for the relatives.
Bharathi (38), her husband Ramesh (42), and her brother Jagadeesh M (46) were crushed to death when a tree fell on their car on JC Road, near Minerva Circle, on Friday. Jagadeesh was a tailor and had three daughters, two of them married. He had taken loans for their weddings. His youngest daughter Aishwarya is an SSLC student. His wife Rupa, a homemaker, now has to raise her without an income.
Brothers Rohith (21) and Rahul (17) lost both their parents Ramesh and Bharathi Madkar. Their uncle Mallikarjun P told Express, “BBMP should take care of the education of Rahul, Rohith and Aishwarya and give them job opportunities.”
BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said, “We have asked the families to meet us on Monday. We will give cheques worth `5 lakh for each of the deceased. We will also provide the family members suitable jobs.” On why the tree that killed the trio wasn’t pruned despite complaints from the residents, Manjunath said, “When it comes to cutting green and thriving trees, we face a lot of opposition. We need to take permission. We will survey old trees in the area and take action.”
Bharathi was always diligent: Colleagues
Home Guard Bharathi Madkar, who died after a tree fell on the car, was a cancer survivor. Bharathi’s colleagues from the Home Guard Central Unit thronged the mortuary. Mahesh B, her superior officer, said, “She was tough in controlling illegal activities around the lake. Barring three months when she took leave during treatment, she has always been on duty since her induction in October 2014.Her colleague Nandkumar said, “Be it in the way she dressed, punctuality or work ethics, she was always diligent. She even died in her uniform.”