SATURDAY, MAY 04, 2024
Team Herald
PONDA: A pall of gloom descended upon the village panchayat of Shiroda after a huge banyan tree came crashing down on a couple from the village, while they were returning home after casting their votes on Wednesday evening. Aditi Naik, 39, was killed in the freak accident, while her husband Venkatesh Naik, 47, sustained serious injuries.
Police said the Naiks had cast their votes at ward no 4 of Shiroda panchayat and were returning home when a banyan tree got uprooted and fell on their moving motorcycle, trapping both of them under its massive branches.
Milind Mamlekar, a resident of Shirwada told Herald that he saw the tree falling from his house, and rushed to the spot. "At first, I did not notice the couple as they were hidden in the leaves and branches, but then, I heard a man crying for help," said Mamlekar, who managed to lift a branch of the tree off the chest of Aditi Naik, with help from his neighbour. She was rushed to Shiroda PHC in an unconscious state, where doctors declared her dead.
Venkatesh, who works at the Verna Industrial Estate sustained fractures and is being treated for his injuries at the PHC. The couple has two children, aged 10 and 6.
The family, which also owns a shop in Shiroda, had only recently moved into their newly-constructed house at Satora, said, neighbours.
The tree also damaged several electricity poles in the area, said sources.
