Falling of trees, lightning strike not in human hands: Sena minister on Mumbai school bus tragedy

MUMBAI: Maharashtra's Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat has kicked up a row by saying that falling of trees and lightning strikes are not in human hands, comments made in the wake of the death of a student after a tree collapsed on a school bus in Mumbai.

A day after he made the controversial remarks, the Social Justice Minister on Wednesday sought to control the damage, claiming that he had been misquoted and that the civic body should have ensured proper trimming of trees in advance to prevent such incidents.

Eleven-year-old student Vihan Srivastava died, and four other children, including a four-year-old girl, were injured after a large peepal tree collapsed onto their school bus in Chembur around 3 pm on Tuesday. The bus was ferrying 13 students of Universal High School to their homes.

Asked about the incident, Shirsat on Tuesday said, "How was one to know that the tree was going to fall?" "Falling of a tree or lightning is not in our hands. Maybe there were heavy winds," he had said.

His comments drew sharp reactions from the opposition Congress and NCP (SP).

Slamming the minister, Congress leader Nana Patole said that the remarks show "the level of arrogance" within the government.

"The monsoon preparedness was only on paper, there was nothing on the ground," Patole said.

NCP (SP) leader Clyde Crasto dubbed Shirsat's remarks as "shameful" and "insensitive".

The death of a child could not be brushed aside as a natural occurrence as proper tree audits and maintenance should have been carried out before the monsoon, he added.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Shirsat, however, maintained that his remarks were misconstrued.

"This was a very unfortunate incident. I had said that even though falling of trees is natural, civic authorities should take due precautions. Trees which are about to collapse should be removed before the onset of monsoon," Shirsat said.

"All I had said was that even if the falling of a tree was due to natural causes, the civic body should have taken proper care. The trees should have been trimmed well in advance. Such warnings cannot be ignored in the name of conserving nature. Otherwise, more such incidents will happen again," he said.

He alleged that some people tried to misquote him.

The state government is still concerned and making efforts to avoid such incidents, he said.

He also said that tree audits are conducted regularly and that the state government would make a statement on the incident in the legislative assembly.

The Mumbai civic body had been directed to take necessary measures to prevent such accidents in future, the minister said.

The issue figured in the legislative assembly on Wednesday, with members blaming the BMC for the tragedy.

Ruling Shiv Sena members Tukaram Kate and Murji Patel attacked the civic body over the incident.

Kate, who represents Chembur, said this is not the first time such an accident has happened in his constituency. "I have been repeatedly calling the civic officials to take precautionary measures, but in vain," he said.

Patel demanded that the government take steps to help the boy's family and the injured victims. He said Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is extending financial assistance of Rs 2.5 lakh to the child's family.

Referring to a tree collapse incident in the Marol locality in the western suburb of Andheri, he demanded that a tree survey be conducted immediately to find a solution to such problems.

Congress MLA Nana Patole also raised the issue and asked the government to make a statement on it.