Two workers of the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) were killed on Wednesday morning after an eucalyptus tree fell on them in front of the office of the HMC administrator Dr Sujoy Chakraborty inside the civic body headquarters though there was no storm and rain reported so far during the incident.
The deceased are Umesh Mahato, a permanent employee, and Noor Mahammad, a casual worker, of the Howrah civic body.
The incident occurred around 9 a.m. when they were standing close to the office of Dr Chakraborty. The tree suddenly fell on them and they died when they were taken to the nearby Howrah District Hospital.
Dr Chakraborty along with other senior officers of the HMC rushed to the spot and said, “It’s an accident. The tree was old, but live. We are planning to give monetary compensation to the families of the two deceased.”
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee asked Firhad Hakim, state urban development and municipal affairs minister to visit the HMC after she came to know about the incident.
Mr Hakim visited the spot and said: “It’s a bad luck. The tree suddenly fell though there was no storm or rain and claimed two lives. We have spoken to the families of the two deceased. We are also looking into whether one member of the two families can get jobs.”
The HMC will also give Rs 2 lakh to the two families each as compensation.
However, the incident has prompted the oppositions BJP and CPI-M to blame the HMC for its negligence in maintaining existing big trees inside the civic body headquarters and its borough offices in Howrah city.
The incident could have claimed more lives if the tree fell little later, during office hours when the HMC headquarters gets crowded with its hundreds of employees and common people.
Local CPI-M unit alleged that they have repeatedly urged the board of administrators in HMC to properly maintain existing old trees in different areas under Howrah civic body but nothing has been done so far.
The disaster management men have removed the eucalyptus tree and its branches from the spot by this afternoon.