BENGALURU: In yet another incident of civic negligence claiming the life of a citizen, a 60-year-old autorickshaw driver lost his life when a huge tree branch fell on his vehicle near Jayanagar 4th T-Block around 8:20am on Wednesday.
The victim Khaleel Khan, who suffered head injuries, was rushed to National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) and the fallen tree branch was cleared from the spot. The damaged auto was moved to the jurisdictional police station. The family of the victim, which resides in Padarayanapura in West Zone, was informed about the incident.
Doctors who treated the victim informed the family that due to grievous injuries, the patient could not be saved, and was declared dead at 2pm. “We condoled the family members and as per BBMP norms, Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia will be released to the victim’s family. The Palike forest department will bear the treatment cost as well as the last rites expenses,” said BLG Swamy, Deputy Conservator of Forests, BBMP.
The official said following the previous incident of tree fall on August 12, in which six persons including four schoolchildren suffered injuries, the Palike started identifying dangerous and vulnerable trees and deployed teams to prune them. “Trees like Gulmohar are most vulnerable during rain and winds and branches of roadside and footpath trees are being identified and cleared accordingly, the latest incident was unfortunate,” said an official.
On August 16, another autorickshaw driver, Shivarudraiah, died in a similar incident following moderate rain in Vijayanagar. On August 20, in Sadashivanagar Traffic Police limits, an NGO staffer suffered a head injury after a tree fell on the autorickshaw in which he was travelling, and is being treated at a private hospital. On Sunday (Sept 1), two of three family members sustained grievous injuries after a 15-year-old tree fell on them while they were travelling in a car near Anil Kumble Circle. These back-to-back incidents have put the Palike in a tight spot.
TEAMS ON THE JOB
* BBMP deploys 30-member team in each BBMP zone to address tree fall incidents
* Dead trees and vulnerable branches that may pose danger are being identified by BBMP, removed and pruned
* Gulmohar trees more vulnerable during rain and winds, BBMP appeals to people not to stand near such trees during rain