Elderly man hurt in Jul 6 tree fall dies in hospital; monsoon-related deaths in Thane district now 4

Thane, Jul 9 (PTI) A 64-year-old man who was injured in a treefall incident in Thane city amid very heavy rains on July 6 died on Thursday while undergoing treatment at a hospital, a civic official said. The man passed away in a private hospital at around 2pm, Thane Resident Deputy Collector Sandeep Mane told PTI. Pandurang Bikhu Bhavad was returning home on July 6 when a huge tree near the Regional Transport Office (RTO) fell on him, local Shiv Sena corporator Vikas Repale said. He was in ICU since being rushed to a private hospital and died this afternoon, Repale added. This is the fourth rain-related death in Thane district this monsoon, officials pointed out. On July 5, a man died in a slab collapse at Vashi's Sector 11 in Navi Mumbai, they said. Incidentally, the city has seen around 600 tree and branch fall incidents in the current spell of heavy rains in the first week of July, officials said. It was one of the focus areas of discussion when Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde paid a surprise visit to the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) here on Wednesday. During his visit, Shinde had pulled up civic officials for operational failure and neglect. PTI COR BNM