Hansapuri Heritage Tree Collapse Nagpur: 150-Year-Old Peepal Falls, Road Widening Blamed
A 150-year-old peepal tree has collapsed in Hansapuri, Nagpur. The tree fell on Wednesday morning on Ganjakhet Road. It crashed onto a vacant house-cum-shop, damaging the structure. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Locals and corporator Sanjay Balpande are blaming the ongoing old Bhandara Road widening work for the Hansapuri heritage tree collapse. They allege that excavation near the tree severed its roots. As a result, the massive tree lost its stability and fell.
How Road Widening Caused the Hansapuri Heritage Tree Collapse
Residents say excavation for road widening and utility work exposed the tree’s roots. Furthermore, several roots were severed during the digging process. This drastically weakened the 150-year-old peepal tree over time.
Corporator Sanjay Balpande had noticed the danger two days earlier. He had already complained to civic authorities about the weakening tree. However, officials only pruned some branches. They took no steps to secure or preserve the heritage tree.
“The tree was nearly 150 years old and one of Hansapuri’s most recognisable landmarks. Had timely action been taken, this heritage tree could have been saved,” Balpande told Times of India.
Moreover, NMC officials had earlier indicated that the tree would be transplanted. However, that exercise was never carried out. Therefore, the tree remained vulnerable until it finally collapsed on Wednesday morning.
What Damage Did the Tree Fall Cause
The collapse caused significant local disruption. First, the falling tree damaged a vacant house-cum-shop on Ganjakhet Road. Second, it snapped power lines in the locality. As a result, electricity supply was disrupted for nearly three hours.
Furthermore, traffic remained affected on Ganjakhet Road until civic teams cleared the debris. However, no human injuries were reported in the incident. NMC teams worked to restore normalcy as quickly as possible.
What Residents Are Demanding Now
Locals say the Hansapuri peepal tree was far more than just a tree. It had served as a landmark for generations of Hansapuri residents. Moreover, it had become a symbol of the locality’s identity. People referred to it simply as the “Hansapuri tree.”
Therefore, its collapse has caused genuine grief in the community. In addition, it has renewed serious concerns about heritage tree protection during infrastructure projects across Nagpur.
Residents have now demanded an independent inquiry. They want authorities to investigate whether excavation within the tree’s root zone directly caused the collapse. Furthermore, they want accountability for the failure to transplant the tree as officials had promised.
However, NMC’s garden department had not commented on the allegations until late Wednesday evening.
NMC’s Response to Trees Falling Across Nagpur
Wednesday was a difficult day for Nagpur’s green cover overall. Rain and gusty winds uprooted trees at three other locations across the city as well.
NMC Fire and Emergency Services responded to tree falls at multiple sites. These included Hudkeshwar Police Station Main Road, near Anuradha Bungalow on Japanese Garden Road, and near Birsa Munda Hall in Pachpaoli. Teams cleared debris and restored traffic at all locations. Moreover, no injuries were reported at any of these sites either.
However, the Hansapuri case is different from weather-related tree falls. In this case, locals specifically allege that human negligence — not rain or wind — caused the collapse.
The Bigger Question — Are Heritage Trees Safe During Road Widening?
The Hansapuri heritage tree collapse raises an urgent question. How does Nagpur protect its century-old trees during infrastructure projects?
Maharashtra has provisions under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act to protect significant trees. Furthermore, heritage trees require special permissions before any work near their root zone begins.
However, the Hansapuri incident suggests these protections may not always be followed on the ground. Excavation reportedly happened close to the root zone. The promised transplantation never happened. A 150-year-old landmark was lost as a result.
Therefore, Nagpur Updates urges NMC to conduct a full audit of heritage trees along all ongoing road widening corridors. In addition, NMC must ensure that transplantation commitments are actually carried out — not just promised to satisfy complaints.
