'How many more deaths before this city is fixed during Mumbai rains?'

Every year as the monsoon arrives in the city so does death due to civic apathy Though the rains are yet to start in earnest eight people including six children have lost their lives in rainrelated incidents in the city and suburbs since May While three of them died due to electrocution two died when trees fell on them and three drownedLocals at the site in Khindipada at Bhandup where Sara Shaikh and Anil Yadav who tried to help her were electrocutedTreefall incidentsLeela Gokuldas Sukhi 92What happened She was walking near Banganga Tank Walkeshwar when the branch of a tree fell on her on May 28 She was rushed to St Elizabeths Hospital on Malabar Hill and later transferred to GT Hospital where she diedSister Mahalaxmi Naik Leela went for her routine walk and sat near a shop located in a small lane behind Kawalemath Trust I met her at the lane and left to finish some work at home She asked me to go on as she wanted to sit there for some more time After a while a few locals came up to me and told me about the incidentAgency responsible The tree was on land belonging to the Kawalemath TrustOfficialspeak Deputy superintendent of garden city Sahebrao Gavit said About six months ago we got a request from the Kawalemath Trust to inspect 19 trees that were said to be imbalanced After inspection the local ward had given them permission to trim the trees But the trust did not follow it up with us later on In that permission letter we had also mentioned they should approach BMC every six months if they find any dead or dangerous tree But a member from Kawalemath Trust said We have found no such documents granting us permission to trim 19 trees The womans death is very unfortunate There is no correspondence regarding this particular tree branchDrushti Mungra 13What happened Drushti Mungra was playing with a friend in an open space next to a road when a tree which was planted on a footpath fell on her on June 9 Locals rushed her to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrivalNeighbour Manoj Sharma She was very sweet kid That day she was returning home and it started raining heavily Apparently she and two other kids took shelter under the tree It fell on her and she diedAgency responsible BMCOfficialspeak Superintendent of Garden department Jeetendra Pardesi said The BMCs disaster management department is looking into it I will have to check and then let you knowDrowningsNandini Gupta 8 Anand Gupta 6What happened Nandini 8 and her brother Anand Gupta 6 were playing outside their house in Thane district on June 3 where a drainage line was being laid Locals said they screamed for help when they fell inside the sixfootdeep trench filled with rain water but drowned by the time people came to helpLocal and former TMT member Taki Chaulkar No safety measures were taken which is why the two kids diedAgency responsible Thane Municipal CorporationOfficialspeak TMC PRO Sandip Malvi said We have initiated an inquiry into the matter Soon we will take actionAdyan Shaikh 3What happened Aurangabadbased Adyan Shaikh 3 and his mother were in Mumbai visiting his grandmother Adyans hand slipped from his mothers hand and he fell into an open drain on June 7 at Trombay and drownedFather Parvez Sheikh My wife is pregnant so I had sent her to her mothers place in Mumbai On June 7 there were heavy rains and due to that they could not see the open drain Adyan fell into it A person tried to fish him out but by then he drownedAgency responsible BMCOfficialspeak Despite repeated attempts to contact him Assistant Municipal Commissioner of Meast Ward Srinivas Kilije did not respond However a civic official from storm water drain SWD department said This particular drain is with the local ward office as they had undertaken cleaning work An inquiry has been initiated to ascertain the negligenceElectrocutionsOm Phadtare 10What happened Phadtare and his friend Rohan Sutar were playing in a ground in Trimurti area in Bhandup when they came in contact with a live wire suspected to have been detached from an electric pole on June 3 Phadtare died while Sutar was injuredAgency responsible Maharashtra State Electricity BoardSara Younus Shaikh 9What happened She accidentally came in contact with a live wire on June 3 at Khindipada in BhandupFamily friend Ajay Shinde Sara was very young She died due to the negligence of government officials They must be punished and compensation should be given to the familyAgency responsible Maharashtra State Electricity BoardAnil Pandurang Yadav 33What happened He also got electrocuted when he tried to help SaraSantosh Yadav elder brother Anils wife is pregnant He drove an auto for a living How will his family survive now The government should give a job to someone from his familyAgency responsible MSEBOfficialspeak The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission MSHRC had issued a suomotu notice to the Maharashtra State Electricity Board MSEB and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC after the deaths of Phadtare Shaikh and Yadav in electrocutions While BMC officials said the onus of the incident was on MSEDCL its chief spokesperson did not respond to messages and email03No of people dead due to electrocution02People who died in treefall incidentsOfficialspeakJeetendra Pardesi Superintendent garden deptBMCs disaster management department is looking into it I will have to check and then let you knowAn unnamed SWD officialThis particular drain is with the local ward office as they had undertaken cleaning work An inquiry has been initiated to ascertain the negligenceAlso Read Mumbai BMC Removes Illegal Structures And Widens Drain To Avert FloodingCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates