Tree fall in Malleswaram leaves two injured, several vehicles damaged

BENGALURU: Two persons, including a woman, were injured after a huge tree, which was uprooted due to heavy rain, fell on them on

Malleswaram

8th Cross (

Margosa Road

) late Sunday afternoon. Several vehicles were also damaged in the incident.


Raveena, 25, and Shivakumar, 55, employees of a sari showroom nearby, were rushed to hospital. While Raveena is undergoing treatment for a head injury at National Institute of Mental Health And Neurological Sciences (Nimhans), Shivakumar, who is out of danger, was discharged later in the night.

The tree, which was near the sari showroom, came down, crushing two cars, an autorickshaw and several bikes parked under it. Shivakumar, manager at the showroom, who was out on the road for a break, was injured as the branches fell on him. Raveena, who too was out of the showroom, was injured.

According to Malleswaram police, the victims were first rushed to KC General Hospital and later shifted to Nimhans.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) range forest officer Shivaram A said the tree was about 30 years old and had huge branches. “The tree variety is called spathodea and commonly known as African tulip. Its roots might have weakened owing to rain and other factors. The incident took place around 4pm and we cleared the road of the tree and its branches by 5pm,” he added.

Three other trees were uprooted during Sunday’s rain. A tree fell on another autorickshaw near Prasanna theatre on Magadi Road, west Bengaluru. Luckily, no one came under it. While Gokula Kuteera of Indiranagar saw a tree fall, another was uprooted in Vidhana Soudha Layout near Dr Rajkumar memorial, Outer Ring Road.

Meanwhile, the weatherman has predicted more showers in the coming days. “Rain or thundershowers are very likely to drench the city for the coming few days. Maximum & minimum temperatures are likely to be around 30 and 20 degrees Celsius, respectively,” said an official from the Meteorological Centre, Bengaluru.

Rain turns potholes into craters; cops help with quick fix

A few spells of rain over the past few days have turned hundreds of potholes into gaping craters. While BBMP is dragging its feet on road repair works, traffic cops in some places are doing their bit to fix the problem, realising these potholes could cause accidents.

On Saturday, traffic police in Kengeri filled several potholes at Mylasandra Circle with help from Namma Metro staff. “Many potholes have emerged due to road works. We took help of Metro staff and filled some of them using their cement mixture. Otherwise, to fill potholes, we have to first write to the authorities concerned and it’s a long procedure. So, we took the initiative to fill potholes wherever we could,” a police officer said.

Meanwhile, KS Layout traffic police fixed the footpath at KS Layout junction near Dayananda Sagar College on Saturday. Govardhan Rao, an assistant sub-inspector attached to KS Layout traffic police station, found the public, including hundreds of students, were using a busy road to reach a pedestrian crossing as slabs on the footpath were displaced. Rao fixed them with help from his subordinates. Now, pedestrians can use the footpath without fear, KS Layout traffic police said.