Twenty-one trees were removed from the roadside in Sallaghari of Bhaktapur following the deaths of three people after being hit by a falling tree on July 24. On Sunday, an adult tree accidently fell and crushed a passenger bus (Ba 2 Kha 3584) and a scooter (Ba 61 Pa 3978) in motion, killing three on the spot and leaving 12 injured. Of the dead, two were the bus passengers while the other was the scooter rider. According to Bhaktapur’s Chief District Officer Rudra Devi Sharma, such a number of trees that were unsafe were cut down following the Sunday’s fatal accident. The Division Forest Office, Bhaktapur employees marked the vulnerable trees before their removal. “The expert teams assessed such a number of trees along the Sallaghari-Dudhpati route as unsafe for public and we are reported that other areas including the schools too have such hazardous trees. They will be identified by an expert team and will be cut down, “she said. Likewise, the Khwopa Minibus Service Committee has agreed to bear the treatment cost of the injured. Of them, one has been already discharged, and 11 are undergoing treatment at the Dr Iwamura Memorial Hospital Sallaghari and Bhaktapur International Hospital, Kaushaltar, Scooter rider Raj Kumar Bhujel, 45, of Harion-4, Sarlahi, Bishesh Khaburja, 25 of Byasi of Bhaktapur municipality-2 and Nhuchheram Bakhatyo, 55, of Bhaktapur municipality-7 were killed in the accident. —rss