Mumbai: 91-yr-old dies after branch falls on her

Leelaben Sukhee, a 91-year-old resident of Banganga, died on Monday night after a branch fell on her. This is the second such death in two months. Just like the previous Dadar incident, this tree too was inside a trust's premises. Family members said that owners of such premises should ensure that they take care of pruning of trees so that such accidents don't happen again.

The incident took place when Sukhee was out for her usual evening walk on Walkeshwar-Banganga Road between 6.00-6.30 pm. She was living with her 85-year-old sister in Chatre Building off Banganga Road for the past many years.

"The moment I got to know of the incident, I rushed from my Santacruz home," said Laxmikant Naik, her brother. By then she had already been taken to nearby Elizabeth Hospital by the locals.

"They told us that there were no ortho doctors, and she had multiple fractures," said Sanjay Dave, a family friend who took her to GT Hospital. "At GT hospital, she puked blood twice. They even put her on ventilator, but could not save her. Since this was not on BMC land, private property owners should be held responsible," said Laxmikant.

Ramesh Vaze, outside whose shop the incident took place, said, "I usually sit there. However, I had gone inside to attend to a customer. This is when the victim came and sat on the chair. I heard a loud thud and saw her on the road, bleeding."

Members of the Shri Gaud Padacharya Sansthan-Shri Kawle Math, where the accident took place, were unavailable for a comment. BMC said that the trust had sought permission to prune other trees, but not the one whose branch fell. It was asked to pay requisite charges, which they did not pay despite reminders. BMC also said that the trust was told that every six months they have the trees checked and take measures accordingly.

TIME TO ACT

This is the second such death in two months. Just like the previous Dadar incident, this tree, too, was inside the premises of a trust. Family members said that owners of such premises should prune trees so that such accidents don’t happen.