1 dies in Coonoor tree fall, residents seek safety steps

Coonoor: While a branch of a tree that fell down on Sunday night at Gandhipuram area near here along the Ooty-Coimbatore NH killed one Raghupathy (48), riding a two-wheeler along the stretch, the  residents here demanded the administration to take steps to fell all the dangerous tress along the fragile Gandhipuram slopes.

The residents here, pointing out recent incidents of uprooting of trees in the same place which played havoc with the traffic flow, wanted effective action to remove all the dangerous trees in the Gandhipuram slopes.

S. Ananthakrishnan, senior member of the Citizens’ Forum of Coonoor, said that that the officialdom should realize that a human life is more important than a tree.  The National Highway administration along with the district administration in Nilgiris should identify the dangerous trees along the fragile slopes in Gandhipuram and take immediate action to remove the trees and grow grass along the slopes to stabilize the soil and slope stability there.

“The NH administration should be given free hand to plan for safe traffic in the dangerous Gandhipuram slopes.  Necessary efforts must also be taken to widen the road there with retaining walls and storm water drain facility in the wanton points to make sure commuting is safe in the Gandhipuram stretch of the Ooty-Coimbatore NH,” he suggested.