The bustling streets of Harish Mukherjee Road witnessed a dramatic incident on Tuesday morning when a towering century-old mahogany tree succumbed to collapse, causing significant disruption and injury. The incident occurred near Chiro Kishore Dal and Patuapara crossing in Bhowanipur, where a colony of rats had secretly burrowed under the pavements, critically weakening the tree’s roots.
The 70-foot-tall mahogany tree fell around 7:40 am, injuring a cyclist severely and damaging a parked taxi. The cyclist, a contractual staffer at SSKM Hospital, was commuting to work when he was trapped under the falling tree, prompting immediate hospitalization. Fortunately, the taxi driver narrowly avoided harm, having stepped away for a brief tea break moments before the incident.Locals expressed deep concern over the incident, particularly highlighting the vulnerability of tall avenue trees in the area. This is not the first such occurrence; in June 2022, another tree, a deodar, collapsed barely 100 feet away from Tuesday’s site, also due to rat infestation undermining its stability.
The aftermath of the incident saw Harish Mukherjee Road blocked for over two hours during peak office hours, leading to significant traffic congestion. Normalcy returned only by 9:56 am after authorities managed to clear the debris and reopen the thoroughfare.The incident underscores the hidden dangers posed by rodent activity under urban infrastructure, raising questions about the maintenance and safety protocols around aging trees in densely populated areas. Residents, shaken by the close call, voiced concerns about similar threats to other mature trees lining the city’s streets.Efforts are underway to assess the structural integrity of nearby trees and bolster preventive measures against rodent infestation to mitigate future risks. As Kolkata grapples with the aftermath, authorities are urged to prioritize urban green spaces’ upkeep and safety to prevent such incidents from recurring.
