• Senior citizen killed as unpruned tree branch crashes due to official apathy 
• Incident occurs days after three deaths due to unscientific road humps

The PWD wanted to fell this tree while widening the road a few years ago. Star of Mysore was also for cutting the tree for widening the road. But some environmentalists objected to it and the tree was saved. Now a precious life is lost. The road was widened haphazardly around the tree making it a killer. What an irony.—Ed

Mysore/Mysuru: Days after three individuals lost their lives due to the unsafe speed-breakers installed by the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) on Bogadi Road near the Manasagangothri entrance gate, another tragedy occurred as an elderly person was killed by a falling Peepal tree branch on Tuesday morning. 

Once again, the negligence of the MCC was evident, as it failed to trim the hollow and termite-infested branches, leading to this unfortunate incident. The location where the tree branch fell on the elderly person is half a kilometre away on Bogadi Road from the site of the road hump accident that killed three persons. 

On Tuesday morning, Reginald Platel (67), a resident of Roopanagar was riding his scooter when the tree branch fell on him on the road that leads from Kukkarahalli Lake towards Bogadi, passing the Crawford Hall. The old Peepal tree stands in front of ‘Chandravana’, the Government Ayurveda Farm, near the Government Press.

A case registered at the Saraswathipuram Police Station says that Reginald Platel was coming from the city side early in the morning when the accident occurred. Inspector Purushotham said a report about the incident has been submitted to Deputy Commissioner for release of compensation. 

The photos of the fallen branch clearly show that it was hollow and infested with termites, dangerously protruding over the road. With windy conditions prevailing in morning, the branch abruptly crashed onto Reginald Platel who sustained head injuries. A section of the branch, measuring over 10 feet, collapsed onto the road, striking Reginald Platel.

The victim’s son told Star of Mysore that the tree did not fall early in the morning but at 9.15 am when his father was heading to Saraswathipuram. 

“We stay in Roopanagar and my dad, wearing a helmet, was heading to a Honda Activa showroom in Saraswathipuram to give his vehicle for service and some repairs. We rushed him to the KVC Hospital at Devaraja Mohalla where he was put on ventilator support. The tree fall dealt a severe blow to his health and there were many complications. We brought him back to our home last evening and he passed away at 7.45 pm,” the victim’s son said.  

Soon after the accident, the MCC got into the act and cleared the road. Without divulging information to the curious public passing on the road and attempting a cover-up, workers hurriedly shifted the fallen tree branches and wood pieces to the side of the road. They even trimmed the other hollow branches with mechanised saws.  

The incident was brought to the attention of Star of Mysore by some friends of Reginald Platel. One of his friends, C.K. Aiyanna, expressed, “Our dear friend Reginald Platel passed away tragically. A huge branch of a roadside tree fell on his head while he was riding his two-wheeler, despite wearing a helmet. Shouldn’t this tragedy be attributed to the negligence of the Mysore City Corporation, who are responsible for trimming the hazardous branches and trees along the roads? Despite hospital treatment, his life could not be saved. Another life has been lost due to the negligence of our City Corporation.”

Another friend recalled that Reginald Platel was a talented cricket player, and the family is devastated by his loss due to  official apathy.