A preliminary investigation into the tree collapse that claimed the life of an 11-year-old schoolboy in Mumbai’s Chembur has found that the central root system of the tree had weakened, with civic authorities now examining whether recent road concretisation work may have contributed to the incident.
The tragedy occurred on Tuesday afternoon when a large peepal tree fell onto a school van carrying 12 students from Universal High School on Road No. 11 in Subhash Nagar. The accident killed Vihan Srivastav, 11, while four other students sustained injuries.
Following the removal of the fallen tree, officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Garden Department and the Mumbai Fire Brigade carried out a site inspection. According to civic officials, the tree’s side roots remained intact, but its central root structure had deteriorated, leading to the collapse.
“Prima facie, upon inspection of the collapsed tree, we observed that while the tree’s side roots were stable, the roots at its core had weakened and given way,” a civic official said.
The official added, “While the cause of its weakening is yet to be determined, there is a possibility that the tree’s roots had weakened owing to a concretisation of the road which had been recently concluded. We will investigate whether the surroundings of the tree had been excavated with no proper care.”
Residents said road concretisation work along the stretch was completed between March and April. However, senior BMC officials stressed that no direct link has yet been established. They noted that the tree’s roots were located beneath the footpath, while stormwater drains had been diverted to protect them during construction.
Officials said the 40-50-year-old peepal tree had been pruned before the monsoon in May and had undergone a safety inspection in March, which reportedly classified it as safe.
Following the incident, the BMC announced a citywide survey to identify ageing and potentially hazardous trees. The accident comes amid an increase in tree-fall incidents during the monsoon, with 36 such cases reported across Mumbai between Monday and Tuesday morning.
Source: The Indian Express
