TEAM HERALD
PONDA: Two school buses were damaged when a huge banyan tree came crashing on them opposite St Joseph High School, Usgao, on Sunday.
According to reports, the banyan tree uprooted between 6.30 am and 7 am and damaged the two buses of St Joseph High School which were parked in the school compound.
Incidentally, the 7.30 am Sunday mass at St Joseph Church, which is adjacent to the St Joseph High School, was postponed due to some reasons.
“Being Sunday, the school was closed and it was a sheer luck as the 7.30 am mass on Sunday was cancelled in advance, otherwise there could have been more damage. There was only one mass at 8 am,” informed Fr Felix Lobo.
“The school compound has also been damaged. Over two-and-half years back, I had written to the Ponda Deputy Collector’s office to cut the tree which was posing danger to the motorists and school students, but no action was taken,” claimed Fr Lobo.
“We have nine school buses, of which seven belongs to the church and two Indira Bal Rath. Of the two damaged buses, one bus of the church is totally damaged, while the Indira Bal Rath is partly damaged,” informed Fr Lobo.
The road leading to old Usgao bridge was totally blocked; however, there was not much traffic problem as motorists commuted over the new Usgao bridge which is adjacent to the old bridge.
