IANS

New Delhi, Jul 14: They shouldn't have chopped a 100-year-old tree dear to god, some residents said Monday after two accidents at a Delhi Metro construction site killed six people and injured many.

They were referring to a 'peepal' tree that was "mercilessly chopped overnight" for the benefit of metro construction some time back. The tree was reportedly located next to a Hanuman temple that still stands.

Lalit Kumar, 45, told IANS: "I had seen the tree since childhood. It was at least 100 years old. But these people chopped it off to widen the road. Something bad was obviously waiting to happen."

The tree was barely a couple of metres away from the accident site where six people were killed Sunday and 15 injured when a section of the metro rail track under construction collapsed. Six people were injured again in the second accident at the same spot Monday.

Badal, another resident, said: "We did tell the officials not to cut the tree but they did not listen to us. Instead they cut it in the darkness of the night to avoid any protest."

Standing near a small red Hanuman temple next to the spot where the tree used to be, Mukesh Singh went on to say the priest at the shrine had asked Metro officials to conduct a prayer after cutting the tree to avoid any ill effects but no one listened.

"They paid no heed. Now everyone is paying the price for it. This place has become inauspicious."