Heavy winds kill auto driver in Bengaluru

An auto rickshaw driver, Imtiyaz, 41, was severely injured when the uprooted coconut tree fell on him, and he later succumbed to his injuries on the spot. The auto itself was completely smashed in.

The passenger inside the vehicle had a miraculous escape.

There was a massive storm on Sunday and the 60-foot tree, which was in a dilapidated state, was uprooted by the winds.

Building owner responsible

The owners of the building within whose compound the coconut tree was planted will be considered accountable for the fatal incident, as they did not axe the unsteady tree earlier. The tree fell from inside the Jwalamukhi newspaper office in Basavanagudi.

Trees planted in public places come under the purview of the BBMP. Last month, when pedestrians on a footpath were killed when uprooted trees toppled on them, the BBMP had given their families compensation.

So, in this incident, as the tree fell from inside a private property, the owner of the building is responsible, say officers of the forest department.

Other fatalities:

Jeevan Kumar, a four-year-old boy, was killed in the torrential rains on June 27 at Vivek Nagar in Bengaluru. In another incident on the same day, the storm, with 59 km-per-hour winds, uprooted a tree near Malleshwaram, which fell on bike rider Fairoz, 40, killing him on the spot.

With this, the death toll in the current season in Bengaluru has gone up to three.

Incidents in 2015:

May 29:              Madhav reddy, 50, died of tree-fall near Anepalya bus stop on Hosur Road and five persons were severely injured.

June 10:             Puttarangappa, 80, was killed when a Gul Mohar tree fell on him near CSR Residential Complex at Adugodi

September 18:    An uprooted tree had killed a daily wager, Yallayya, 35, near Garuda Mall, D’souza Circle

December 10:     Civil engineer Manjunath, 35, was killed near MC Layout Post Office in Vijayanagar.