Mumbai: BMC probe blames wind for ex Doordarshan anchor's death by tree collapse

Would former Doordarshan anchor and yoga instructor Kanchan Nath have been alive today if the BMC hadnt refused to cut the tree that fell and crushed her According to the civic officials the answer is blowing in the wind In an inquiry report the civic body has shrugged off all responsibility for the tragedy blaming the trees collapse on a windstormA CCTV grab shows the collapsed coconut tree that fell on Kanchan Nath while she was on her way homeKanchan was walking home to Prawasi housing society in Chembur after a yoga session on July 20 when a coconut tree snapped midtrunk and came crashing down on her The heavy tree fell right on her head knocking her out immediately The 58yearold died two days later at Sushrut HospitalAlso read Mumbai Chembur woman crushed by tree dies husband blames BMC for negligenceKanchan Nath with her son Rajarshi who plans to move court for justiceA CCTV camera had caught the entire incident and the footage quickly went viral sparking much outrage against the BMC Kanchan was the third casualty of tree collapses this year despite the corporation spending several crores on pruning trees Public anger increased after it came to light that a local resident had warned the garden department that the tree was too heavy repeatedly asking them cut itKanchan Nath with her son RajarshiHowever in a new report the BMC has given a clean chit to its officials The incident had taken place at 8 am during a brief lull amid heavy rains Civic bodys report states The incident happened on July 20 when the wind speed was high and the tree collapsed due to thatNo negligenceThe corporation further said there was no negligence on part of garden department officialsAlso read Mumbai ExDoordarshan female anchor crushed by falling treeHowever as midday had reported before the BMC had long known about the danger posed by the coconut tree The tree stood in the compound of local resident Dinkar Pol who had on February 17 requested the BMC to cut it down He warned them that the tree had grown too large to be safe The BMC report mentioned this as wellThe report added that after receiving the complaint officials from the garden department had visited the site and noted that the tree had a 4metre circumference and was about 40 metres tall and its growth was natural They further noted that there was no pest problem or disease in the tree and hence they deemed the tree safeHowever officials decided that the tree was weighed down by branches and coconuts so they gave permission to trim some of them Pol went back to the BMC after 10 days once again requesting the BMC to send someone to trim additional branches and coconuts He had also paid trimming charges of Rs 1380 The same day a contractor had come and removed some branches and coconutsThe BMC report stated that from that day till the day of the accident no other complaints were received regarding the tree On this basis the civic authorities claimed they had not been negligentAlso read BJP demands including cutting trimming of treesConfirming the report Jitendra Pardeshi superintendent of gardens said After the incident we checked our records and asked staffers to make a report It states that the tree collapsed due to the windLawsuit in the windKanchans family is unhappy with the BMC report Her son Rajarshi Nath told midday We have been running from pillar to post but have not got any justice We will wait for a few days and if we still do not get justice we will move courtWhen contacted Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar said I am not aware of the report but if the family members are not satisfied they can meet me and I will definitely help them as per the law