The tragic death of a teenage girl due to a falling tree in the heart of Panaji once again brings into focus the failure of the government and the competent authorities to have a regular programme of assessment and trimming and reduction of the height of trees which can prevent such tragic deaths. Abroad where the authorities really care for the safety of the people and the protection of trees there is a continuous round the year programme of trimming trees and reducing the height to prevent tragic events. Many times it is noticed that the authorities, adopting shortcuts, instead of reducing the height of the trees, just chop off the lower branches , thus making the matters worse . For years citizens have been focusing on this problem, but it appears that the authorities, the forest department, and others do not pay adequate heed to citizens' views. Will this tragic death bring about a change of attitude ?
