Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, May 4: Due to strong wind and heavy rain that lashed several parts of the city on Tuesday May 2 night, several trees got uprooted in Bajpe area, damaging buildings and inflicting heavy loss. After a banyan tree fell on a hotel near Hunsekatte, Yekkar, the hotel owner was killed.

The deceased was Sundar Poojary (47), who owned the said hotel. The incident occurred at around 10 pm on Tuesday.

Poojary used to stay in the hotel building along with his wife and son. The hotel had been closed for the day and the family had gone to bed when the area experienced heavy rain, lightning and strong wind. Due to the force of the wind, a huge banyan tree standing near the hotel got extirpated and came crashing down on the building. Sundar Poojary, who had got up from the bed and had reached the front portion of the hotel to drink water, was crushed under the weight of the tree and stones and bricks of the wall which accompanying the falling tree.

Sundar Poojary's wife Shashikala and son Vikesh rushed out of the hotel from the rear door as soon as they heard the sound of falling tree, and succeeded in saving themselves. Shashikala suffered some injuries to her head. People from the area rushed to the help of the family and searched for Sundar after finding that he was nowhere to be seen. After sometime, they found that Sundar was stuck under the weight of stones and tree. He was brought out with great difficulty and then rushed to a hospital in the city in a car. However, he breathed his last on the way.

Sundar, who used to stay in the hotel in spite of the fact that he has his own house at Palladakody near Yekkar gram panchayat office, is survived by wife and two sons. Sundar's other son works in a private concern at Bengaluru.

As the branches of this banyan tree had grown long and wide, it was providing shelter to the passersby. It is now being surmised that the tree became easy prey for the wind because of its big branches. Power cables too were severed when the tree came crashing down. In Yekkar, several trees fell down and a house owned by Vinod Salian was damaged around the same time. Vehicular traffic was obstructed due to fallen trees at a number of places, and police arranged to clear them.