Pune woman dies after tree falls on her, 82 incidents reported in a day

PUNE: A 60-year-old flower vendor, Ranjana Navnath Giri of Ganeshmala off Sinhagad Road, died after a tree collapsed on her around 3.30pm on Thursday. Giri had taken shelter beneath the tree sudden heavy rainfall lashed the city.

Senior inspector Rajendra Sahane of the Parvati police said Giri was selling flowers on the footpath when it began raining heavily. "She then moved with her flowers near a truck parked under the tree on Navshya Maruti Mandir Lane. The tree was already leaning. Within minutes, strong winds and heavy rainfall uprooted the tree, trapping Giri beneath it," the officer said.

Nearby residents alerted the police and fire brigade. "Personnel from the fire brigade rushed to the spot and carried out rescue operations. Giri, who suffered grievous injuries, was shifted to a private hospital in Erandwane, where doctors declared her dead," Sahane said.

Police have started the process to register an accidental death report. Sahane said Giri would walk daily to the chowk area to sell flowers. The falling tree also crushed a nearby fruit cart.

Pune mayor Manjusha Nagpure visited the accident site on Sinhagad Road later in the day. "There was cloudburst-like rainfall accompanied by strong winds, which caused several trees and branches to collapse, blocking traffic. Given the severity of the rainfall, very little could have been done at that moment," she said.

Overall, the city fire brigade received a total of 84 distress calls related to tree fall incidents on Thursday, along with six reports of water entering houses and hutments. Several incidents involved trees falling on vehicles and iron structures collapsing due to strong winds. "We started receiving emergency calls around 2.30pm, and they continued till 7.30pm," city fire brigade chief Devendra Potphode said.

At Kondhwe Dhawade, tin sheets from an under-construction four-storey building were blown off and fell onto the road, though no injuries were reported. A car was also damaged after a tree fell on it in Hadapsar's Gadital area.