Pune: A youth died after a tree branch collapsed on his head in the heavy rain on Saturday night at Pokale Vasti in Bibwewadi. Local residents blamed the civic body for the incident.
The victim has been identified as Yogesh Dnyandev Vanere (29), a resident of Budhana district. An accidental death case has been registered at the Bibwewadi Police Station.
According to the police, heavy rain lashed the city on Saturday night. Yogesh Vanere and his friend Sumit Bagade were chatting under a tree near the Mahadev temple at Ota Vasahat (colony) at around 11.30 pm on Saturday. A big tree branch fell on Vanere. Bagade escaped unhurt. Vanere was seriously injured. He was rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.
DCP (zone 1) Sandeep Singh Gill, ACP Ashwini Rakh and Sr PI Vinay Patankar visited the accident spot.
Killer tree branches; Garden Department’s neglect
Weak tree branches across the city have become dangerous as the civic body’s Garden Department continues to neglect them. They are supposed to be removed by the department before the monsoon begins. Many such incidents took place in the past also. A woman was injured due to a branch fall on Jangli Maharaj Road on March 19 this year.
Deaths due to tree branch falls
A bank official died due to a tree branch collapse in November last year. Abhijit Gund (32) was taking tea with a friend near Omkareshwar Mandir when a branch of the tree they were standing under fell on him. Later, the garden department workers had cut weak branches of the trees in the area.
A physically challenged woman died on Apte Road when a tree branch collapsed on her three years ago. The victim’s relatives had blamed the civic body for her death. The Deccan Gymkhana Police had booked officials from the Garden Department for the accident.
