PONDA: The Ponda fire station has been on its toes all through the past week with numerous calls for help regarding fallen trees.
Weakened by gusty winds and unable to grasp the rain-soaked soil, many large trees have been uprooted across the taluka, with at least 13 crashing onto homes. Apart from this, as many as 50 trees fell across busy roads, pulling down electricity poles and damaging stationary vehicles too.
Distressed by the situation, people of the taluka have urged the government to either prune or chop off old, dry trees and those that threaten to collapse during inclement weather. Many have complained that sometimes the refusal of landlords to keep their trees in check have led to disasters and damage to the property of others. In one instance, a house at Marcaim was severely affected after a tree that a landlord didn’t want to cut got uprooted, they said.
“It is surprising that despite damage to life and property, the government is not serious in clearing old or dry trees that lean precariously over the road. The government should take a policy decision with regard to at least roadside trees and those that tower over houses in order to avoid loss to property,” VirajSapre, a resident, said.
Some houses at Marcaim and Adpai were totally damaged due to recent tree falls, while similar incidents have partially affected other residences. Losses have been estimated to run into several lakhs of rupees.
Meanwhile, the Ponda Fire Station received around nine calls on Thursday, mostly of tree falling on road and some incidents of tree falling on houses in Ponda and Dharbandora. At Kodar, a tree fell on a house, causing damages to the tune of Rs 40,000.
