A 57-year-old woman died Tuesday morning after a banyan tree collapsed on her in Parel’s Sanjay Nagar locality, marking the second such incident in Mumbai in two days. The woman, identified as Varsha Kantilal Mistry, was walking by the road around 10 a.m. when the tree fell, trapping her beneath its trunk. Approximately 30 people worked together to free Mistry from the debris.
Read Also | Mumbai: 45-Year-Old Man Dies After Banyan Tree Falls on Him in Worli; Residents Allege BMC Neglect
She was immediately rushed to the civic-run KEM Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, officials said. Civic authorities stated that the banyan tree was not under their maintenance. “This tree was not planted by us. Even though its maintenance was not our responsibility, we had trimmed its top branches during our pre-monsoon pruning drive. Since the tree was planted on the roadside, the roots were unable to go deep underground and collapsed eventually,” a civic official said, as PTI quoted. This incident follows another tree collapse in the city, raising concerns about the safety and maintenance of trees during the monsoon season.