Heavy rainfall accompanied by strong gusty winds over the past two days triggered several tree-fall incidents across Sattari taluka, damaging two houses in separate incidents at Dabe and Khadki. While both families escaped unhurt, the houses suffered significant damage, prompting renewed calls for the removal of hazardous trees before the monsoon.
One incident occurred at Dabe in the Moule Village Panchayat area, where a large tree standing beside the house of Tulshidas Malshekar was uprooted by strong winds and crashed onto the residence. The impact damaged the roof, furniture, electrical appliances and other household belongings. The preliminary loss has been estimated at around Rs 50,000.
In another incident at Khadki, a large tree collapsed onto the house of Arvind Shivaji Malshekar after continuous overnight rain and strong winds. The family initially did not realise what had happened until they stepped outside and discovered that the tree had severely damaged their home. The roof was extensively damaged, leaving it almost completely unusable, while furniture, electrical appliances and other essential belongings were also destroyed. The financial loss is estimated to run into several lakh rupees.
In both cases, local residents initially attempted to remove the fallen trees but were unsuccessful due to their size. Personnel from the Valpoi Fire and Emergency Services rushed to both locations and safely removed the trees using specialised equipment, preventing further damage. At Dabe alone, their prompt action helped save property valued at nearly Rs 1 lakh.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported in either incident. Members of both families were inside their homes when the trees collapsed but escaped unharmed.
Speaking about the Dabe incident, Tulshidas Malshekar said the tree fell without warning during the strong winds, causing extensive damage to the house and household belongings. He thanked the Valpoi Fire and Emergency Services and local residents for their timely assistance.
Following the incidents, local MLA Dr Deviya Rane assured the Dabe family of all necessary assistance and said efforts would be made to help them obtain compensation under the government's disaster relief provisions.
District Panchayat member Premnath Dalvi visited the Khadki site to assess the damage and assured the affected family that every effort would be made to secure financial assistance after the completion of the official damage assessment and other formalities. Dalvi also informed local MLA and Goa Cabinet Minister Vishwajit Rane about the incident, and according to him, the Minister assured that the family would receive the necessary government assistance at the earliest.
