the goan I network
MARGAO
A tree hanging precariously over a house and road in the interiors of Sirvodem and on the outskirts of Margao has brought to the fore a host of questions with the fire brigade saying it has no specialised cutters to cut the tree while the Margao Municipal Council has washed off its hands claiming that the tree cutting squad is yet to be constituted till date.
In the process, the huge bhendi tree has been hanging over the house and the road, with none of the authorities, including the disaster management, finding a way out to the impasse, leaving the occupants of the house to live in constant danger of the tree crashing down anytime.
When the fire brigade was informed of the incident, fire men, who arrived at the spot, told the occupants of the house that it has no wherewithal to cut down the tree since the work involves special cutters. While the fire men left the site without removing the tree, a local resident Joaquim Gomes questioned the stand of the fire brigade, demanding to know how the authorities can expect the victim party to spend huge money to get the tree cut down when they are not the owners.
“The fire brigade has washed off their hands by saying the work involved specialised cutters. What is the victim party expected to do in such a situation, wait for the tree to come down and destroy the house and block the road,” Joaquim demanded
to know.
Ward councillor Doris Texeira said the Margao Municipal Council has so far not constituted any tree cutting squad to cut down the tree hanging over the house. “I will try and convince the fire brigade to help the municipal workers to cut down the tree resting on the house,” Doris said.
Locals feared that the huge tree might just come down on the road and bring the coconut trees down if the branch lying on the house is
removed.
Additional Collector, South Johnson Fernandes, who also holds additional charge of MMC, said he would seek details on the exact status of the tree and why the authorities have failed to cut it down.
