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Railway's women' welfare oganisation donates Rs 10 lakh to Uttarakhan flood victims

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 30 Juni 2013 | 22.23

MUMBAI: In a special humanitarian gesture, Railway Women's Welfare Central Organization (RWWCO), a noted voluntary organization of the wives of Indian Railway officers, has come forward to make a donation to Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for extending help in the rehabilitation of the flood victims of Uttarakhand.

The Minister of Railways, Mallikarjun Kharge received a cheque of Rs.10 lakh for this noble cause from Poonam Mittal, President, RWWCO, here today. RWWCO's General Secretary, Samidha Gupta and Treasurer Amita Chauhan were also present on the occasion.

While the primary concern of the RWWCO is the welfare of Railway employees and their families, it has also risen to the call of the society and the nation - be it environmental awareness, family welfare drives, disturbances on the borders or the natural calamities. With a very modest start about 48 years ago, RWWCO today has gained importance as one of the foremost voluntary organisations functioning in the country.

A PIB release stated, 'Broad activities of RWWCO are to run nursery schools, vocational training centres to contribute to national cause of education and literacy amongst women and children, to encourage children through competitions in sports, essay writing, drawing and painting etc. on All India Railway leve."

The organization also provides financial assistance to children of low-paid railway employees for studies in engineering, medical and other academic courses by way of giving scholarships and educational assistance. The organization also runs craft centre for imparting training in tailoring and crafts to wives/daughters of railway staff and masala/craft centres to provide gainful employment to women. Besides RWWCO also organizes awareness drives about environmental pollution, family welfare, AIDS etc. as well as also provides financial assistance to railway employees and their families in sickness and distress cases.


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Innovative techniques and use of new materials to be encouraged in National Highway projects

MUMBAI: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has now decided to use new materials and techniques in National Highway projects in the country on experimental basis.

According to the ministry, "The initiative has been taken to promote innovation and use of new technology in highway construction. In this regard, it has been decided to adopt innovative, new materials on at least one km stretch in widening and strengthening projects."

The ministry has clarified that the promoter of these new materials shall be required to bear the extra cost involved in the proposal. Being the experimental projects, failure if any, of the trial reach, would not be treated as the responsibility of the Implementing and Executing Agencies, it added.

This endeavor would result in saving of our scarce natural resources like stone aggregates, bitumen etc. A ministry official said, "This may also result in saving in life cycle cost of road construction as compared to road construction using conventional materials. The use of latest equipments would also result in saving in construction period. "

A official said,Road construction materials and technology has seen lot of improvements world over. Many new materials, techniques and equipments have been used in other countries successfully but the same needs to be tested under Indian conditions, traffic, rainfall, drainage, soil conditions etc. before being put to use in India.''


22.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ailing elephant Bijlee is dead

MUMBAI: The ailing elephant Bijlee, who won the hearts of Mumbaikars a fortnight ago after she was found abandoned on a city road, has died, a volunteer said here Sunday.

"She breathed her last around 6 am today (Sunday). Along with several veterinarians and experts from different parts of India, we made all efforts to revive her, but she passed away," Ganesh Nayak of NGO Animals Matter To Me (AMTM) told IANS.

Bijlee's body will now be taken over by the forest department and Bombay Veterinary College vets for an autopsy, he said.

A complaint has been lodged with the police in Mulund, Nayak said.

On June 11, Bijlee, 54, was found collapsed on the busy Mulund-Bhandup Link Road in eastern Mumbai, allegedly abandoned by her owners.

Nayak, along with NGO RAWW, and local volunteers Jagdish Shetty and Raju Iyer, had been taking care of Bijlee for the past 20 days.

For over a fortnight, Bijlee had been kept strapped on a crane as she could not stand or sit due to weak hind leg bones.

She was suffering from arthritis and could not walk due to a large maggot-infested wound on her hind leg.

The AMTM made arrangements to fly down vets and elephant specialists from Assam, Agra, Pune and other places to treat her.

Initially, Bijlee had responded well to the treatment, but a couple of days ago her condition suddenly deteriorated and she expired Sunday.

Moved by her plight, mega-star Amitabh Bachcan had appealed to public to help save Bijlee on social networking sites a fortnight ago.

Two other prominent organisations, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) separately urged the Maharashtra government to send Bijlee to a rescue centre, cancel her ownership papers and ban elephants from moving on Mumbai roads.

Bijlee had collapsed from overwork June 11. She was taken around to beg, and grace occasions like weddings and other important events. She was made to stand at the venue of such functions to salute guests.

She was forced to spend a long time standing and was hardly allowed rest, according to the volunteers who tended her.


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'We have failed to accommodate needs and identity of women within marriage'

MUMBAI: ''Marriage is basically a patrilinial institution. But for too long we have failed to accommodate the needs and identity of women within marriage. As we have become a more rights conscious society... and with more women getting into the workplace and there being a wider dissemination of education, we need to accommodate and preserve women's identity,'' said Justice D Y Chandrachud on Saturday at an event to felicitate couples who had dropped their divorce battles and were reunited.

While welcoming reconciliation among over a 100 married couples who had been locked in bitter matrimonial disputes at the Bandra family court Justice Chandrachud said, "for a happy family, both man and woman must be happy with each other.''

The judge added, "For the welfare of children, couples must not forsake their own happiness, as couples. If parents are happy with each other, they will impart a strong sense of family and happiness to their children and others."

He however, warned that reconciliation "must not mean the disruption of the identity or individuality of a woman.''

"Judges need to be conversant with feminist literature to be aware of the trends enveloping society in India... They must be liberal and non judgmental," Justice Chandrachud said.

On Saturday couples milled around chatting happily hand in hand in the open ground where a canopy and stage were set up at the entrance to the seven court rooms which otherwise they visited separately, with furrowed brows. The atmosphere was festive and infectious with red roses handed to every couple. But reminding them that marriage is a test also in character of people, Justice Chandrachud said "many values have not changed, like honesty, faithfulness, respect for each other, tolerance and need to share,'' but said, "added to that now is the need to preserve the identity of women."

He said for instance, "a surname has nothing to do with marital ties. It does not mean the dissolution of identity of women.'' And highlighting his own parents' ''64 years of happy married life'' he said the key is in knowing that "happiness lies in small things in life.'' His father he said would make the morning coffee for his mother who would appreciate it and during dinner he would return her compliments.


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Sending a juvenile to jail is not the solution for youth crimes: Activists

MUMBAI: The Justice Verma Committee in the aftermath of the Nirbhaya gang rape in New Delhi last December said that the age of 'juveniles' ought not to be reduced to 16 years. But while there is a growing demand and even a public interest litigation pending in the Supreme Court on the issue of giving age of juvenility a fresh look, activists say law must be rushed into a change that would be harsh on childhood. Speaking days after an alleged rape by a 15-year-old in Navi Mumbai, prominent women's rights activist advocate Flavia Agnes believes that lowering the age would deprive childhood a chance.

" Based on a few incidents we cannot insist that the protection provided by law should be withdrawn and the age of juvenile under the Act should be reduced to 16,'' she said.

When a child is tried under the Juvenile Justice Act, the procedure is different - simpler-unlike a regular sessions trial and the child is dealt with compassion with reformation being the aim. "There are several social and financial reasons which make the child commit a crime. If all the children in this country get good education and upbringing, they will not commit crimes. But today our homes and also our state institutions function in such a way that the upbringing itself teaches children to commit the crime,'' said Flavia.

In the Nirbhaya case, the SC had in January made it clear that the juvenile allegedly involved cannot face trial with other accused like an adult even if the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 is quashed as violative of the constitution. Activists said sent to a regular prison for even 14 or 20 years would make a hardened criminal out of a juvenile.

"Sending a juvenile to jail will not help the society or reduce crimes against women. We must examine the issue dispassionately and be much more kind and considerate towards children in our society,'' said Agnes. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, amended in 2006 and 2011, governs cases that involve "delinquents," "juveniles in conflict with law" or "children in need of care and protection". The law is a social welfare legislation, that requires a child-friendly approach in handling such cases, activists pointed out.


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Venue for Thalassemia camp shifted to D Y Patil hospital

MUMBAI: The Rotaract Club of Navi Mumbai has announced that the venue for the blood donation drive and Thalassemia checkup camp has now been shifted from Vashi to Nerul, at Dr D Y Patil hospital, between 10am and 2pm on Monday.

"We request the general public to come forward and donate blood at the new venue of Dr D Y Patil hospital in Nerul," said Srijeeta Ghosh, President of Rotaract Club of Navi Mumbai.

The blood collected through this drive will be donated to the Mahatma Gandhi Seva Mandir Blood Bank. Thalassemia is an inherited disorder which leads to decreased production and increased destruction of red blood cells. A checkup camp for the detection of thalessemia, has also been organized.

For further details, Contact Prasad Sarode on 9320391736.


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No Bombay high court relief for MPSC examinees over incorrect questions

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 29 Juni 2013 | 22.23

MUMBAI: Marks cannot be given for incorrect questions during examinations, the Bombay high court has ruled while refusing relief to four candidates who had appeared for Mahaharashtra Public Service Commission. The MPSC examinations were for the post of deputy collectors.

The four candidates Abhijit Nikam, Manoj Pawar, Dattatray Gaikwad and Mahesh Singhal claimed that incorrect questions had affected their results and they were unable to obtain the minimum marks required for passing. The board had deleted the questions entirely and brought down the qualifying marks for the exams.

The petitioners have not been able to establish that the corrective action of deletion of the questions adopted by MPSC is either arbitrary or contrary to law,'' said a division bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice R P SondurBaldota.

The court said that even after bringing down the minimum marks required for passing the four candidates had failed to qualify dueing the written examinations. The court further pointed out that the questions had negative marking system and awarding marks for th wrong questions would give undue benefit to some students. However, deleting the questions entirely brought all candidates to the same level.


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New equations in the underworld gangs

MUMBAI: Thursday's incident involving the shootout on defunct gangster Abu Salem by former member of rival Chhota Rajan gang on behest of Chhota Shakeel has spilt the beans on the new secret alliances and new equations among the underworld gangs.

TOI was first to break the story in its Friday's edition saying Dawood gang taking the responsibility of the attack on Salem. Sources said that until than even the top police officers of the Mumbai crime branch were unaware of Shakeel's hands behind the attack.

However on Friday during the course of interrogations the arrested JD told police that the order to eliminate had come from Shakeel. He said that Shakeel had given him handsome amount and promised to get him release on bail. J D has around 7 to 8 cases including three murders. He was arrested in 20101 for killing advocate Shahid Azmi on behest of his slain mentor Bharat Nepal, a former member of Rajan. However in 2011 Santosh Shetty and Vijay Shetty had a secret alliance with Shakeel and killed Bharat Nepali. After Nepali's death Santosh shetty was arrested and deported to India. Sources said that Shakeel through Santosh Shetty brought J D close and hatched the plot.

J D told police more than the money that he has given his loyality to Shakeel. Shakeel too called up TOI and said, Bharat Nepali marne ke baad, JD came in contact with me and we had a secret tie up. Salem just escaped but we will not spare him in future. He has ditched Bhai (Dawood) and had joined hands with dushman (rival Chhota Rajan) and tried to take over the gang in past and enemy's friend is our enemy.''

Sources said that the enmity between Dawood and Salem goes back to late 90s when Salem used to work for D company and almost carried the entire extortion from Bollywood. The killing of music baron Gulshan Kumar, firing on his brother, kidnapping of Milton plastic owner, attack on Rakesh Roshan and killing of Manisha Koirala's personal secretary Ajit Deewani was supervised by Salem.

But sources said that in the melee Salem tried to take over the gang and twice or thrice over ruled the orders of Dawood. In one such incident Dawood was so much upset that he was about to kill but than Salem was saved Dawood's brother Anees Ibrahim who was his teenage friend.'' Said a former gangster. A few years later Dawood was informed that Salem had met Rajan in some foreign country and were planning to kill Dawood to take over the gang and this became the immediate cause of the split in 1998-99.

Since than Dawood thought of eliminating Salem as he knew all inside and outside information of him and if he was let go he may joined hands with Rajan and kill him. Infact Shakeel than took the responsibility of killing him but twice failed and finally Shakeel passed on his information to Interpol which led to his arrest in Lisbon in Portugual.


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Attack on Abu Salem spills beans on new equations in underworld gangs

MUMBAI: Thursday's incident involving the shootout on defunct gangster Abu Salem by former member of rival Chhota Rajan gang on behest of Chhota Shakeel has spilt the beans on the new secret alliances and new equations among the underworld gangs.

TOI was first to break the story in its Friday's edition saying Dawood gang taking the responsibility of the attack on Salem. Sources said that until than even the top police officers of the Mumbai crime branch were unaware of Shakeel's hands behind the attack.

However on Friday during the course of interrogations the arrested JD told police that the order to eliminate had come from Shakeel. He said that Shakeel had given him handsome amount and promised to get him release on bail. J D has around 7 to 8 cases including three murders. He was arrested in 20101 for killing advocate Shahid Azmi on behest of his slain mentor Bharat Nepal, a former member of Rajan. However in 2011 Santosh Shetty and Vijay Shetty had a secret alliance with Shakeel and killed Bharat Nepali. After Nepali's death Santosh shetty was arrested and deported to India. Sources said that Shakeel through Santosh Shetty brought J D close and hatched the plot.

J D told police more than the money that he has given his loyality to Shakeel. Shakeel too called up TOI and said, Bharat Nepali marne ke baad, JD came in contact with me and we had a secret tie up. Salem just escaped but we will not spare him in future. He has ditched Bhai (Dawood) and had joined hands with dushman (rival Chhota Rajan) and tried to take over the gang in past and enemy's friend is our enemy.''

Sources said that the enmity between Dawood and Salem goes back to late 90s when Salem used to work for D company and almost carried the entire extortion from Bollywood. The killing of music baron Gulshan Kumar, firing on his brother, kidnapping of Milton plastic owner, attack on Rakesh Roshan and killing of Manisha Koirala's personal secretary Ajit Deewani was supervised by Salem.

But sources said that in the melee Salem tried to take over the gang and twice or thrice over ruled the orders of Dawood. In one such incident Dawood was so much upset that he was about to kill but than Salem was saved Dawood's brother Anees Ibrahim who was his teenage friend.'' Said a former gangster. A few years later Dawood was informed that Salem had met Rajan in some foreign country and were planning to kill Dawood to take over the gang and this became the immediate cause of the split in 1998-99.

Since than Dawood thought of eliminating Salem as he knew all inside and outside information of him and if he was let go he may joined hands with Rajan and kill him. Infact Shakeel than took the responsibility of killing him but twice failed and finally Shakeel passed on his information to Interpol which led to his arrest in Lisbon in Portugual.


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Bombay HC refuses to review pro-poor medical scheme

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court dismissed petition of a medical foundation seeking review of its earlier order approving a 2006 scheme that required public trusts getting government aid or land to provide free hospital beds for the poor and underprivileged.

Rejecting the petition, a bench noted "the scheme is formulated by this court after considering the relevant provisions of the Bombay Public Trust Act and the need for modification of Section 41AA in the larger interest of society. We are of the considered opinion that the scheme formulated by this Court does not call for any interference."

"So far as review is concerned, the legal position is that a review of an earlier order is not permissible unless the court is satisfied that material error manifest on the face of order undermines its soundness or results in miscarriage of justice," observed the bench of Justices Sadhna Jadhav and V K Tahilramani.

"A review of a judgement is an extreme step and cannot be resorted to unless there is a glaring omission or addition which would thwart the established principles of law."

The review plea was filed by the Pune-based Shri Seva Medical Foundation, a charitable trust registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act (BPT Act), which runs a hospital.

The Bench said the court, which responded to a PIL, had considered public interest while formulating the scheme for making grant-in-aid meaningful for weaker sections of the community.

The scheme was formulated on the principle that PIL was an arm of the legal movement intended to bring justice within the reach of the poor masses.

The petitioners are, in fact, seeking relief of exemption from the scheme under the garb of review petition, which cannot be entertained in the larger interest of the society, the Judges ruled.

"Hence, the review petition is dismissed with no order as to costs."


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Blood donation drive and Thalassemia checkup camp at Navi Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Rotaract Club of Navi Mumbai, BVIMSR, Navi Mumbai Hillside, SIES Nerul and Saraswati College sponsored by their parent Rotary Clubs of Navi Mumbai, New Bombay Hill Side and Navi Mumbai Seaside has organized a blood donation drive and Thalassemia checkup camp at ICLES Motilal Jhunjhunwala College, Vashi, on Monday, July 1, from 10 am to 4 pm. This is an initiative by Rotaract International District 3140.

"Donating blood is truly a noble act by which we can save lives. We request the general public to come forward and donate blood," said Srijeeta Ghosh, President of Rotaract Club of Navi Mumbai.

The blood collected through this drive will be donated to the Mahatma Gandhi Seva Mandir Blood Bank. Thalassemia is an inherited disorder which leads to decreased production and increased destruction of red blood cells. A checkup camp for the detection of thalessemia, has also been organized.

For further details, Contact Prasad Sarode on 9320391736.


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Lok Satta Party demands apology from squabbling BMC corporators

MUMBAI: Loksatta Party in Mumbai slammed the deplorable conduct of corporators squabbling in the house this week which resulted in physical assault and scuffle between Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena corporators over the redevelopment of Mahalaxmi Race course. Apparently women corporators were involved in the scuffle as well.

Reacting to this Dr Kedar Diwan, president of Lok Satta Party Maharashtra with additional charge of Mumbai unit said that corporators are custodians of the city government on behalf of the citizens of Mumbai and not self-styled unaccountable monarchs.

Entrenched political parties continue to brazenly let its cadre get away with such attacks on public faith in the house - a "temple of democracy". He demanded that the political parties involved should apologize to the people of Mumbai on the shameful conduct of their corporators.


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Construction of Mumbai metro corridor approved

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 28 Juni 2013 | 22.23

MUMBAI: The government has given its approval for the construction of a 33.5km-long metro corridor in Mumbai which would run from Colaba to Santacruz electronics export processing zone (SEEPZ) via Bandra.

The approval for the corridor, which is also known as Mumbai Metro Line-3, was given at a meeting of the Union Cabinet held yesterday evening.

The total completion cost of the project is estimated at Rs 23,136 crore and the line through its total length of 33.5 km will be underground. The gauge would be standard gauge, as per the detailed project report (DPR).

The project is scheduled to be completed in six years by March 2019 from the date of start of work in the financial year 2013-14.

An official statement released here said that the cabinet had also approved the conversion of the existing state level special purpose vehicle (SPV) - Mumbai Metro rail corporation (MMRC) into a joint venture company of the government of India (GoI) and government of Maharashtra (GoM), with equity participation on 50:50 basis.

MMRC is the agency which would be implementing the line three metro corridor. The joint ownership company will continue to be named as MMRC and has been created on a similar pattern as the Delhi Metro, Bangalore Metro, Chennai Metro and Kochi Metro.

The promoters of MMRC, the Government of India and the Maharashtra government would nominate five directors each to the board of directors of the SPV, which shall have 10 nominee Directors.

The secretary, ministry of urban development will be the ex-officio Chairman of the Board, the statement said.


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Attack on Abu Salem in jail: 4 cops suspended, lawyer to seek repatriation

MUMBAI: A day after gangster Abu Salem was shot at in Taloja jail, four security personnel were on Friday suspended pending a high-level probe even as his lawyers are planning to move Portuguese authorities for his repatriation.

An attempt to murder case was also registered against his assailant Devendra Jagtap alias JD.

State's home minister R R Patil said additional DG (Prisons) Meeran Borwankar will hold an inquiry into the incident and officials found responsible for the lapse would face action, including dismissal from service.

"Responsibility for the incident will be fixed and stringent action, including dismissal from service, will be taken against those found guilty," Patil said.

Jagtap had allegedly fired two rounds with a country-made revolver at Salem, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts who was extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005 after a prolonged legal battle.

Police are, however, so far clueless about the motive behind the attack.

"Two rounds were fired with a gun that was smuggled into the jail some days before the attack," A K Sharma, Navi Mumbai Police commissioner, told reporters.

Meanwhile, the jail authorities have suspended four security personnel including a jailor and three constables for dereliction of duty on the basis of a preliminary inquiry.

"We have suspended an officer and three cops," said Borwankar, adding those who faced action were on duty at the gate and in the prison's high-security zone.

Those suspended are jailor Sanjay Sable and constables Chandrakant Pathare, Nitin Sawant and Gitesh Randhive.

Borwankar admitted that security at the entrance of the jail had been breached.

Meanwhile, Salem's lawyer Saba Qureshi has said they would approach Portuguese authorities seeking the extradited gangster's repatriation.

"One of the conditions of extradition was that Abu Salem would be protected. This condition stands violated as he has been attacked inside the jail. So, we plan to seek intervention of authorities in Portugal to have Salem repatriated," She told PTI.


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Salem attack a well-planned conspiracy, say cops

THANE: Questions are being raised in the police circles about the investigations that are underway in the planned attack on incarcerated gangster Abu Salem in the Taloja jail on Thursday, with the prison authorities clearly under a cloud for the daring assault by rival gangster.

While the attack speaks volumes about the inadequate safety and security measures inside the penitentiary, police officials said the possibility of the jail staff's tacit involvement could not be ruled out. In fact, a senior police officer is of the opinion that the jail staff should be held accountable for the murderous assault and be booked under Section 12 (b) of the Indian Penal Code for being part of the conspiracy.

The Navi Mumbai police commissioner has said that they are going to investigate as to how a country-made gun could be sneaked inside the heavy-guarded prison. The commissioner should promptly register an offence of conspiracy and attempt to murder against the jail authorities and arrest those on guard duty along with the attacker,'' a senior police officer told TOI.

He added that Salem's attacker Devendra Jagtap had fired two rounds from a country-made revolver when the two men came in close contact inside the jail courtyard on Thursday. Fearing for his life Salem ran for cover and managed to duck one bullet but the second bullet just about missed the target and injured his right hand.

It is believed that Jagtap could have been passed on the weapon earlier in the day while he was attending a court hearing in Mumbai. The attacker entered the prison with the weapon hidden on him. Ideally, the jail guards carry out a physical inspection of all those inmates who return back to the cell after spending a day in court hearing. There is a proper screening and even baggage which include toiletries or medicines are screened before they are allowed inside the prison. If Jagtap has managed to walk though this with a weapon, then it is a serious security breach or it is a collusion,'' the police officer said on conditions of anonymity.

He added that Salem has been in jail for close to seven years now after he was deported from Portugal in November 2005. The Portugal government was given an executive assurance by the Central government that it would not award death penalty to Salem and would also desist from booking him for offences which entails 25 years in prison.

This is a second such murderous attack on Salem who has residency rights in Portugal. Salem has survived the attacks showing the prison authorities in poor light. Now he can make a perfectly legitimate demand to be repatriated to his home country as he fears for his life here. So, the possibility that the attack was planned by the gangster himself cannot be ruled out entirely,'' the police officer said.

He expressed surprise that Jagtap, who is under trail for killing of Gulshan Kumar and SIMI activists-turned advocate Shahid Azmi, should use a country-made revolver and not a high end revolver used by sharp shooters to kill their targets.


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Salem attack a well-planned conspiracy, cops say

THANE: Questions are being raised in the police circles about the investigations that are underway in the planned attack on incarcerated gangster Abu Salem in the Taloja jail on Thursday, with the prison authorities clearly under a cloud for the daring assault by rival gangster.

While the attack speaks volumes about the inadequate safety and security measures inside the penitentiary, police officials said the possibility of the jail staff's tacit involvement could not be ruled out. In fact, a senior police officer is of the opinion that the jail staff should be held accountable for the murderous assault and be booked under Section 12 (b) of the Indian Penal Code for being part of the conspiracy.

The Navi Mumbai police commissioner has said that they are going to investigate as to how a country-made gun could be sneaked inside the heavy-guarded prison. The commissioner should promptly register an offence of conspiracy and attempt to murder against the jail authorities and arrest those on guard duty along with the attacker,'' a senior police officer told TOI.

He added that Salem's attacker Devendra Jagtap had fired two rounds from a country-made revolver when the two men came in close contact inside the jail courtyard on Thursday. Fearing for his life Salem ran for cover and managed to duck one bullet but the second bullet just about missed the target and injured his right hand.

It is believed that Jagtap could have been passed on the weapon earlier in the day while he was attending a court hearing in Mumbai. The attacker entered the prison with the weapon hidden on him. Ideally, the jail guards carry out a physical inspection of all those inmates who return back to the cell after spending a day in court hearing. There is a proper screening and even baggage which include toiletries or medicines are screened before they are allowed inside the prison. If Jagtap has managed to walk though this with a weapon, then it is a serious security breach or it is a collusion,'' the police officer said on conditions of anonymity.

He added that Salem has been in jail for close to seven years now after he was deported from Portugal in November 2005. The Portugal government was given an executive assurance by the Central government that it would not award death penalty to Salem and would also desist from booking him for offences which entails 25 years in prison.

This is a second such murderous attack on Salem who has residency rights in Portugal. Salem has survived the attacks showing the prison authorities in poor light. Now he can make a perfectly legitimate demand to be repatriated to his home country as he fears for his life here. So, the possibility that the attack was planned by the gangster himself cannot be ruled out entirely,'' the police officer said.

He expressed surprise that Jagtap, who is under trail for killing of Gulshan Kumar and SIMI activists-turned advocate Shahid Azmi, should use a country-made revolver and not a high end revolver used by sharp shooters to kill their targets.


22.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aurobindo Pharma signs agreement to produce key HIV drugs

MUMBAI: Aurobindo Pharma has signed an agreement with public health organisation, Medicines Patent Pool that will allow it to produce key medicines for treatment of children living with HIV. Through a patent licence with the MPP, Aurobindo can now supply medicines containing abacavir in 118 countries where over 98% of children living with HIV reside. Abacavir is recommended by the World Health Organization for the treatment of paediatric HIV.

There are currently 3.4 million children living with HIV worldwide. But only 562,000 of them have access to medicines, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Treating children living with HIV can be challenging, as medicines suited to their specific needs are often unavailable. With this licence, Aurobindo looks forward to increasing the supply of quality, child-friendly HIV treatment in developing countries," said PV Ramaprasad Reddy, chairman Aurobindo.

The Medicines Patent Pool made the abacavir licence available for generic companies following an agreement it signed with ViiV Healthcare (a joint venture of GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Shionogi) in February 2013.

"Quality medicines at affordable prices are critical for combating the HIV epidemic, and generic manufacturers like Aurobindo are an essential part of ensuring such medicines are available," said Greg Perry, executive director Medicines Patent Pool. "The agreement with ViiV is an important initial step towards making more child-friendly HIV medicines available where they are most needed."


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Jiah Khan suicide case: Suraj's lawyer opposes narco-test

MUMBAI: A day after Mumbai police sought court's permission to conduct narco-analysis test on Suraj Pancholi, son of actor couple arrested on charge of abetting his actor-girlfriend Jiah Khan's suicide, his lawyers said that they would not give consent to it.

"We are not going to give our consent to it as Suraj is of tender age," his advocate Zamir Khan said on Friday.

As per the law, no chemical tests can be conducted on an accused without his or her consent.

"Police moved this application after his judicial custody was extended and they tried to get an order on our back," Khan added.

Juhu police had filed an application in court on Thursday in which they sought narco analysis test to be conducted on Suraj. The court is likely to hear the application on Monday.

Jiah Khan had committed suicide on June 3, while Suraj, son Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, was arrested after Khan's family found her letter four days later. Suraj was arrested on the basis of the letter.

The sessions court on June 21 had rejected his bail application after the police told the court that they intent to add some more sections in the case.

Police also told the court that there are many judgements by the apex court to show that in such cases the suicide note should be taken as dying declaration.

Suraj has already filed an appeal in the Bombay high court against the order of his bail rejection by the sessions court.


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Man with over 150 cases of cheating held

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 26 Juni 2013 | 22.23

MUMBAI: The Vinoba Bhave Nagar police recently arrested a 35-year-old man who has reportedly robbed gold chains of over 150 people over the past few years. The accused Kiran Shah, a Ghatkopar resident, and his two accomplices targeted victims in the age group between 20 and 30 and threatened for eve-teasing before making away with the valuables. At present the Kurla police had taken his custody wanted in similar offences that has been registered with them.

Shah committed the offence to fund his daily expenses of Rs15,000 to buy clothes and alcohol for his accomplices. He was nabbed by locals from Kurla (West) on June 11 and handed over to the patrolling cops when he tried to rob a youth with similar modus operandi. "The accused has been wanted for over 150 offences at different suburban police stations. He commits the offence to buy clothes daily, spend on women and alcohol," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V) Dhananjay Kulkarni.

After committing the offence Shah hides in different lodges in Kurla and has never visited his home for the last eight years. Explaining the modus operandi, Kulkarni said, "Shah uses to hide in a isolated bylane in Kurla along with his accomplices. On identifying his target, Shah asks his accomplice Navez to pounce on the targeted youth and accuse him of eve-teasing. When the victim denies of doing nothing the accused asks him to hand over the gold chain to him to show it to the woman who have seen the chain of the person who teased her."

The victim realizes about being robbed only when the accused flees from the spot with the valuables. Police are on lookout for the accomplices residing at Antop Hill. "The accused after committing the offence takes auto-rickshaw to flee. They have committed the entire offence in Eastern, Western and few part of Central suburbs and never crossed after Sion locality to commit the offence," said a VB Nagar police officer.


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Man held for kidnapping and molesting minor girl

MUMBAI: The Shivaji Nagar police arrested a 24-year-old tailor for allegedly kidnapping his colleague's 10-year-old daughter from outside her house and reportedly misbehaved with her in a local train on June 23. Accused Sayyed Ashpaq was caught by alert passengers in the local train at Currey Road station on seeing the minor girl, a class VI student of a civic school, crying in the compartment.

Passengers rescued the victim and handed over Ashpaq to the Dadar railway police at 6.30pm. Around 7.15pm the railway police united the victim with her parents. After registering the complaint, the case was handed over to the Shivaji Nagar police for further probe because the offence started from their at 4.30pm on Sunday.

Investigators learnt that the accused was known to the minor girl as her father too is a tailor by profession. "On Sunday evening, the accused approached the minor girl who was playing outside her house at Baiganwadi in Shivaji Nagar and lured her of seeing important places in South Mumbai. He took her in a local train and committed the offence," said Shivaji Nagar police senior inspector RS Agarwal.

In the complaint, the minor girl said, "I was playing outside my house when the person known to my father told to take me to see important places in the city. He took me to Govandi railway station in a auto-rickshaw from where we got down at Kurla railway station and took another train that was going to CST. In between he misbehaved with me touching indecently before I cried for help when the train reached Currey railway station."

Victim's mother told the police that she had seen her daughter playing outside their residence till 4.30pm before she went missing. Around 6.15pm she received a call from the Dadar railway police informing about her daughter and the fate she could have met with for the careless act from her parents.

Ashpaq has been booked under IPC sections 354 (outrage modesty) and 363 (kidnap). He was also booked under sections 7 and 8 of the Protection of children from sexual offences act 2012 for (molests and sexual assault). He is in custody till Wednesday.


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Technical teams formed to inspect dangerous buildings in Mira-Bhayander

MUMBAI: Six technical teams have been formed by the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to inspect pre-1995 residential buildings in the region. The teams comprising of structural engineers and ward officers have visited over 400 buildings.

Another 700 buildings have to be inspected. The team will have to submit their report in a week's time. Based on the report, the civic administration will take a decision whether to repair the structure or evacuate the occupants. Last month, the municipality had issued notices to all the pre-1995 structures. However, only two dozen buildings managed to get structural audit done.

The remaining have shown inability to pay the audit fees. The municipality has 66 buildings in the dangerous list. Of these 20 have been demolished and 21 evacuated. Power supply and water to the dilapidated structures have also been disconnected.


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Central Railway employee hit by train, dies.

MUMBAI: A 60-year-old gangman was killed on duty after a local train hit him. He was carrying out track repair work with 20 other co-workers between Mulund and Thane railway station.

According to Thane Government Railway Police (GRP), the incident took place at around 11.45 am. The deceased, Bhau Bhoire, was a class IV employee. He was repairing tracks on a day when mega block had been announced.

The motorman of an Ambarnath Up slow local honked when he noticed the railway employees on the tracks. But probably due to his age, Bhoire wasn't able to move away as quickly as his co-workers. The train hit him on the left side of his body.

. Bhoire was rushed to the Thane civil hospital, but was declared dead before admission. An accidental death was recorded by Thane GRP.

Bhoire is a native of Trimbakeshwar in Nashik. His family was informed by the GRP. His son, wife and other family members claimed his body. The station master was informed and GRP will now probe whether anyone was at fault.


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IIT-Bombay joins NGO to ensure computer literacy at BMC schools

MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay has joined hands with an NGO Citizens Association for Child Rights to ensure computer literacy for children enrolled in BMC schools.

The premier institute is providing free self-learning software and training for citizen volunteers to conduct the programme in the civic schools. BMC teachers are also being enrolled for the training, said Nitin Wadhwani, an NGO member.

"The BMC has more than 2,000 computers in its schools. We want to ensure that the children benefit from this infrastructure. We are also trying to get self-learning software support on spoken English,'' he said.

More than 50 citizen volunteers from H/W, K/E, and M wards have already attended the orientation programme at IIT and have pledged at least two hours per week in neighbourhood BMC school to ensure the programme is successfully implemented, said Wadhwani.


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Suraj Pancholi seeks bail from Bombay high court

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Aditya Pancholi' son Suraj Pancholi, arrested on the charge of abetting the suicide of actress Jiah Khan, moved Bombay high court for bail on Wednesday.

The sessions court had last week rejected Suraj's bail plea, saying that prima facie Jiah had been mentally abused by Suraj.

He was arrested on the basis of a letter, purportedly written by Jiah, which was found by her mother Rabiyah Khan and her sister from Jiah's bedroom a few days after she hung herself from the ceiling fan on June 3.

In the letter, Jiah spoke how she was mentally harassed by Suraj and how she had undergone an abortion.

Suraj, lodged in Arthur Road prison in central Mumbai, says in his bail plea that he and Jiah were in a consensual relationship and the letter is being misused by Rabiyah.

Police's case is that letter was "incriminating" against Suraj as Jiah blamed him for her downslide and said she was "heartbroken" in her relationship with him and was fed up with his "womanising".

The high court is likely to hear the bail application on July 5.


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Axis bank heist: Two skimmers identified

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 23 Juni 2013 | 22.24

MUMBAI: The city cops probing the hacking of Axis banks accounts by installing skimming device and siphoning off Rs 15.48 lakhs from several accounts at one of the ATM at Colaba have almost identified the two persons who are believed to be foreign nationals.

Though the police were tightlipped revealing their identity as they were on the job tracking them, sources said that the two are Bulgarians and are in India on tourist visas. The two are part of a bigger racket run from outside India. Our boys are on the job to track them and we will nab them before they could flee India.''said an officer.

According to police the two have been identified from the CCTV footage captured at one of the ATM at Colaba. The footage, which goes back to May shows two men of foreign origin installing a skimming device at the Axis Bank ATM. A total of 37 accounts, including over a dozen belonging to policemen, were hacked into and the money was withdrawn from various accounts including places as far as Greece by the gang members.

An FIR was registered at the Colaba police station, following which a special team was formed to probe the case. According to the officer, the team is hopeful of cracking the case within this week. "We are hoping to crack the case in a week's time and are currently in the process of gathering physical evidence in the case. Once we get all the data, we will nail the culprits," said an officer.


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Drive to clear encroachments from Sanjay Gandhi National Park

MUMBAI: Forest officials started a drive to remove encroachments dotting the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). Though the initial plan to clear the encroachments in Ketakipada were thwarted by massive local and political resistance, said forest officials, the drive was shifted to areas inside the forest.

Officials said that encroachments inside the park are also many and have occupied the forest land for over 10 years now. In the first phase, on June 3, the local police and forest officials removed 116 encroachments from within the forest area. After two days, 80 more encroachments were removed. On June 6, 116 illegal encroachments or structures were removed followed by 95 more the next day.

"We removed 407 encroachments from within the forest in the first phase," Sunil Limaye, chief forest conservator at SGNP. Officials said that the area reclaimed will be measured and planted with trees. SGNP is the only national park in the country located within the limits of the city. Its periphery is encroached on all sides leading to several incidents of man-animal conflicts.

"It is important to remove and prevent encroachments to preserve the national park. Even the area inside the forest has now been encroached upon," said a forest official.


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Heavy rain to hit air traffic at Mumbai airport

MUMBAI: Flight delays will mark coming days at Mumbai airport as the met department has warned of heavy rain in the coming days. Most flights have been delayed by 30-40 minutes on an average during the previous week. Last week, many flights were even diverted to other cities as they could not approach Mumbai runway due to heavy rains and ran short of holding fuel. The situation is likely to be the same in the coming days as heavy rains are expected, said officials.

Officials said that the presence of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky threaten incoming flights on rainy days. These clouds are dark, thunder bearing rain clouds which an aircraft cannot pass through. "The pilot gets a dot on the weather screen when the aircraft is approaching these clouds. An aircraft has to keep away from them," said a senior commander. Officials at the airport said that these clouds were noticed above Mumbai and might hinder operations.

"Flights have to hold as they cannot pass through these clouds. If the holding time gets longer, flights are at a risk of running out of fuel. Hence, they have to be diverted," said an air traffic controller. Fluctuating visibility due to cloud cover is another deterrent to smooth flight operations, said officials.


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Travellers for 'fat tax' says survey, travel experts call it discriminatory

MUMBAI: Pay more if you are over-weight, feel travelers according to a recent survey. Around 60 percent air travelers feel that airlines should levy a "Fat Tax" as a charge for seats for overweight passengers. The survey was conducted with a sample of 1000 travellers by a travel search portal, Skyscanner.

A release by the portal states that the poll was conducted after a Norwegian economist said that airlines should follow other transport sectors and charge by space and weight. The survey stated that a Pacific-based carrier, Samoa Air, already charges passengers according to their weight. It is the world's first "cost-per-kilo" fare system, states the survey report. More than 40 percent of the travelers were against the system and found it discriminatory.

Travel experts in Mumbai said that such a system would offend fliers and would not be in good taste. "People can't be charged as per their weight. If a passenger can accommodate himself/herself in one seat why should there be an extra charge for them?" asked a Fort-based travel agent.


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Mumbaikars head for weekend holidays during monsoon

MUMBAI: Mumbaikars are all set to take road trips this monsoon, say tour operators. Smaller destinations, easily reached by roads and secluded from the noise of the city are monsoon haunts for people. Villas and hotels in Lonavala, Matheran, Mahabaleshwar are full with people escaping for a quiet weekend.

Travel agents said that the hotel rates at these places are at their peak with many of them selling for Rs 4,000 and above for one night stay. "It is tough to get bookings over the weekends and people are driving down in huge numbers to make the best of the monsoon rains," said a Fort-based travel agent. Experts said that apart from the usual haunts, places like Mulshi (close to Pune), Malshej Ghat are also becoming increasingly popular.

"There is a constant rush of tourists at these places during monsoon. They have basic hotel facilities but are quieter and more pristine," said another agent. Agents, however, said that the actual number of tourists would be tough to estimate as people also drive down for a day and return by evening. "Also, people book at smaller hotels and mostly self-book hotels. Hence it is difficult to estimate right away," the agent added.


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Gold smuggling cases on the rise

MUMBAI: Cases of gold smuggling seem to be on a rise despite gold prices hitting a low in India. If cases at Mumbai airport are to be looked at, there have been big seizures two days ago when a man was arrested for hiding and attempting to smuggle gold worth Rs 21 lakh. On the same day, a woman was arrested for carrying gold worth Rs 54 lakhs.

Even before that, there have been recurrent cases where carriers try to smuggle gold into India through Dubai. Officials said that cases of people trying to evade duty on gold bought for personal use are also on a rise.

"People don't think when they spend money on buying gold. But when it comes to paying a duty, they want to duck the charge. This is why many people get caught with imported gold even when there are not smugglers," said a customs official.

Senior officials said that smuggling of gold has been a perennial problem. However, better detection is leading to a surge in cases. "There is more smuggling than what the detected cases represent. Customs will have to be on its toes to instill fear of smuggling among the syndicates," said a senior official.


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Five killed in Mumbai building collapse

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 22 Juni 2013 | 22.23

MUMBAI: Five people were killed and six others injured when a four-storey building collapsed on Saturday morning in suburban Dahisar here, police said.

The building, located in market area of Dahisar (East), was vacated two years ago by BMC officials but local vegetable vendors used to take night shelter in the structure sometimes.

The building, which was constructed more than 30 years ago could not get into re-development as the conveyance deed was not done by the builder, flat owners told local MP Sanjay Nirupam, who visited the spot after the mishap.

Nirupam assured the flat owners that he would get the deemed conveyance of the building done.

The six injured have been admitted to Bhagwati hospital for treatment, police added.

On Friday, a building had collapsed in Thane's Mumbra area killing at least 10 people, including six children, and injuring 14.


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Chembur residents demand reduction of dumping waste at Deonar

MUMBAI: Since 1927, Chembur has been suffering due to unplanned, non-scientific dumping of garbage at the Deonar. Today the already bad situation has worsened with the municipal waste of the entire city "Dumped" here - no Closure, no Landfill, no Processing.

Pollution, ill-health, foul smell and other unbearable elements have remained unresolved for almost a century and the BMC has held contracted agencies responsible for this, accusing them of inefficiency and incompetence.

Now, Deonar dumping ground, about 85 years old, which should have been shut down years back, still continues to be the only place where the BMC dumps the city's waste. The dumping area has increased from 110 to 130 hectares. Worse still, the BMC has sought permission from the Airports Authority of India to raise the height of the dumping ground from 35 mts to 50 mts - as high as a 16 storey building.

As per the agreement between the BMC and the contracted agencies, waste of 2000 Tons Per Day should be sent to Deonar, 4000 to Kanjurmarg and 500 to the Mulund dumping ground. This never happened; Deonar receives three times the quantity. Chembur residents are demanding that the BMC send only 2000 TPD of municipal waste to Deonar dumping ground. This will help in proper waste management, a landfill, proper closure and processing.


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BNHS to teach nature interpretation

MUMBAI: BNHS India has collaborated with Sanjay Gandhi National Park (National Park) and is all set to conduct its all time popular Citizen Science Programme at the Nature Interpretation Centre (NIC) at Borivli.

Every person at some point of time or the other feels like researching and studying something in depth. Some get the opportunity as a part of their academic life, but many others are forced to ignore the scientist inside them, due to the daily hectic routine. The Citizen Science Programme gives you an opportunity to get into the shoes of a scientist and wear the hat of a data collector for a day. This Programme was jointly launched by BNHS and SGNP on the eve of World Environment Day. The popular programme of BNHS CEC - Be a Scientist for a Day - will involve year-long biodiversity surveys at SGNP by general public under the guidance of experts. The surveys will include plants, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and other animals. Even amateurs can join to work along with experts.

Participants will learn to observe, record and analyze the data in a scientific manner. This will sharpen analytical and observation skills which are useful for wildlife studies. It will involve learning the use of field guides, data sheets and GPS gadgets.


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Mangrove shoots grow on a planned highway

MUMBAI: Tender new mangrove shoots are growing where once a superhighway was planned by builders to engulf and destroy dense mangrove forests in CRZ 1. But these are now protected by the Indian law.

Few years ago, an environmental catastrophe was about to take place on 450 acres of virgin mangrove forests in Survey 344 at Dahisar West. The New Link Road Residents Forum with help of the BEAG, CAT, the then Suburban collector Shri Nirmal Deshmukh, Justice Tahiliani and few upright officials in the Judiciary, Police and MCZMA managed to stop the dumping of debris in this pristine mangrove forest.

"We had to go up to the Supreme Court to get a favorable verdict. Today the debris remain as a mute testimony of human greed. Some of it was ordered to be removed following the Supreme Court ruling, but a significant portion still remains", said Harishchandra Pandey, chairman, New Link Road Residents' Forum. He further added,"inspite of all these debris, there is something special coming up. Amidst the rubble, we see new mangrove shoots bravely springing forth. God has designed these mangroves with a special quality, to thrive amidst the tidal waves, harsh salinity and humid heat of Mumbai's coast", said Harishchandra Pandey, chairman, New Link Road Residents' Forum.


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Release food to the poor: HC tells Maharashtra govt

MUMBAI: Young India is impatient for a change, said Bombay High Court on Friday even as it directed the Maharashtra government to expedite process to give foodgrains to large number of primitive tribal groups in Thane and Raigad districts.

A division bench of Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud and Justice Suresh Gupte on June 21, 2013 heard a public interest litigation by Jagruti Sangharsh Manch regarding non-implementation of the Supreme Court's April 2004 directives for issuing ration cards to PTG and distribution of subsidised food grains. "Young India is impatient for change. You must show action," said Justice Chandrachud.

The judge said "mindsets have to change" as the poor and illiterate who are unaware of their rights will not come to the government. "Government must come with a begging bowl to the poor. The process must be conducted in the reverse and every effort must be made to trace and identify such persons including holding camp,'' said Justice Chandrachud. The judges also reminded the government that foodgrains "are rotting in godowns instead of being given to the poor."

NGO's advocate Kranti LC argued that the government is yet to approve the 2002 Below Poverty Line list and is continuing with the 1997 lists. Shocked that the government had not approving the BPL list pending with it for 10 years, the judges directed that steps be taken grant approval forthwith and not later than four weeks. They said there is no justification for State government to insist that unless PTG possess BPL cards the government cannot give them foodgrains. They said persons to whom benefit ought to have been granted after 1997 would definitely be excluded only because of administrative inefficiency of the government in failing to update the list. "We are of the view that this state of affairs cannot continue any further since the failure of the State government to reach out to persons Below Poverty Line constitutes violation of Right to Life,"they noted in their order.

The judges were also astonished when told by additional government pleader Nitin Deshpande that the verification of ration card is also done by ration shop owners. They said it will result in "conflict of interests and duty" as the object of verification is to weed out persons to whom bogus cards is issued. They directed the government to file a status report at the next hearing on July 19, 2013.


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HC pulls up govt for failing to create civic police

MUMBAI: Bombay high court has pulled up the State government for failing to take a decision on creating a civic police force to register and probe complaints of unauthorised constructions even four years after announcing it. They directed the chief secretary to formulate a comprehensive policy to tackle the menace of unauthorised constructions.

A division bench of Justice Dhananjay Chanrachud and Justice Amjad Sayed on June 21, heard a public interest litigation by Harit Vasai Sanrakshan Samiti, which was initially filed regarding encroachments in Vasai-Virar belt. The PIL's scope was expanded to cover entire Thane district. When the court was informed that issue of civic police force is under consideration by the government, the judges referred to government's 2009 affidavit where it first spoke of a civic force, civic police station and special courts. They said even after 4 years no concrete steps have been taken on the ground.

"It appears that the proposal of creating a dedicated civic police force is still on the drawing board,'' they added. They also directed statutory bodies like MIDC, CIDCO, municipal corporations and councils to file their affidavits before the next hearing on July 26, 2013.


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'Fun With Frogs' eco-programme of Bombay Natural History Society to be held in July

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 21 Juni 2013 | 22.23

MUMBAI: Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is organizing an innovative 'Fun with Frogs' event for nature lovers on July 7. The BNHS Conservation Education Centre (CEC) is especially planning this eco-awareness programme for the benefit of students, teachers and general public.

Frogs are a fascinating group of animals that feature unique behaviors and characteristics. They belong to group of animals called amphibians which means a dual mode of life, since they start their life in water and later live on land. Monsoon is the best season to study about these jumping jacks in nature.

The event will look out for these jumpy organisms in the forest, peep into their life through an Audio Visual Presentation and understand the threats that these animals are facing. Frogs have been on earth since the age of the dinosaurs.

Participants can also see the natural history collection of BNHS and test their newly gained knowledge in a quiz, as a part of the event.

Apart from that the young adults can also join in a quest for these wonderful creatures and then learn how to make a frog in the origami class, followed by face painting and mask making.

The venue is BNHS CEC, Mumbai. Register before: July 3, 2013. Contact: Amandeep Kaur on 9594929107 / 9594953425 (between 10am to 5pm on weekdays) or email cecbnhs@gmail.com.


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No headway in robbery case

MUMBAI: A day after the Byculla robbery case, the police said that there was no CCTV camera footage of the crime or the attackers fleeing from the scene of incident. They are now trying other sources to get information about the culprits who fled with Rs 35 lakh.

Police said that the four persons arrived outside Jain Mandir in Byculla while Sandeep Patere and Ashok Zhaveri were carrying the cash in a sack on their back. "The complainant has said that two of the gang members were wearing helmets, whereas two others had covered their faces with a cloth. Hence, their faces could not be seen," said Sachin Khondre, sub inspector of Byculla police. Police added that the accused were in their early thirties and had assaulted the duo, following which one of the attackers hit Patere with a knife and the other brandished a firearm and theremaining snatched the sack containing.

Police said they were probing the case and hoping to crack it soon.


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Delhi Technological University wins Enactus India National Competition 2013

MUMBAI: Delhi Technological University has emerged the winner of Enactus India National Competition 2013 held in Mumbai on June 18 and 19.

Enactus is a global community of student, academic and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better more sustainable world. Syntel Inc was the presenting sponsor of the Enactus India National Competition 2013, which saw 29 universities across India present their community outreach projects to a panel of business executives.

Four teams qualified for the final round: Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research, Mumbai, Delhi Technological University, New Delhi and Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi.

The finalists were judged by a panel of over 50 business leaders on defined criteria aligned to the triple bottom line__ profit, people and planet covering:

* Social, economic and environmental factors

* Need identification

* Application of business and economic concepts

* Entrepreneurial approach

* Impact on quality of life and standard of living

* Empowerment and sustainability

The winning team from Delhi Technological University generated employment for women, differently abled and seniors through manufacture of screen-printed cloth bags to replace plastic bags. Other projects included hygiene improvement at highway food establishments (dhabas) and addressing health issues in urban slums. The National Champion will represent India at the 2013 Enactus World Cup in Cancun, Mexico later this year.

Mumbai's KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research won the third prize for their projects__ Mogra and Kruti. In Project Mogra, students worked with farmers in Dahanu which has been facing water scarcity. They taught farmers how to grow mogra, a perennial plant.The team provided seeds and fertilizers and also helped market the produce at Dadar. In Project Kriti, women with poor socio-economic background in sameerwadi village were thought how to stitch and market bags.


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Two held for duping 20 home loan seekers

MUMBAI: The Bhandup police arrested two men for allegedly making false promises of getting the home buyers housing loan at less interest rate against the current offer that the bank have made in the market. To avail the loan the victims are made to take membership with the company the duo -- Sachin Gavare (32) and Bharat Devare (32) -- has placed.

The matter came to light when the victims got suspicion on the two accused after they stopped responding their phone calls. "The accused collected Rs40,000-Rs50,000 membership fees from 20 victims from Bhandup. They have been operating the fraud since last one year. We are also probing the total number of people they have duped from across the city," said Bhandup police senior inspector Shrirang Nadgauda.

The accused are residents of Chembur and had opened a small office in Bhandup locality. They have been booked under IPC sections 34 (common intention) and 420 (cheating). They are in police custody June 21. They lured people by placing advertisement in newspapers.


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Six hill forts of Rajasthan get World heritage stamp

MUMBAI: In a global recognition of sorts, the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO inscribed six hill forts of Rajasthan into the list of World Heritage sites.

The Hill forts are six sites located across the Aravalli mountain range in northern India which represent the seats of Rajput power. The structural ruins date back to the 8th to the 19th Century AD.

The hills include the Chittaurgarh Fort, Kumbhalgarh Fort, Ranthambore Fort, Jaisalmer Fort, Amber Fort and Gagron Fort, many of which are popular tourist destinations. The six sites were forwarded by the Rajasthan government in January 2011.

Critics question why the government needs to wait for global attention before conserving traditional heritage. Global tags also come with their own pitfalls. Such tags serve as a double-edged sword bringing as they do a whole flurry of tourist attention, which could result in damage to the heritage precincts if proper tourist management isn't undertaken.


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Dead body found in pumping station tank

MUMBAI: The dead body of a unidentified man (aged 35 to 40 years) was found in a decomposed state in at the Dharavi water pumping station on Thursday morning. The Dharavi police are probing whether it was an accidental death or a case of murder. Police suspect that the man died at least 2-3 days ago. The body was found inside the tank.

The water is not used for drinking.

Police said the body was found badly decomposed and the reason behind the death is yet to be ascertained. "The deceased was wearing a brown shirt and black trousers.

The body did not bore any external injuries. We have sent the body for post mortems at Sion hospital and are waiting for the report," said a Dharavi police officer.

Officials at the pumping station found the body around 10.30am on Tuesday and informed the police. The police have also recovered the mobile phone of the deceased from the tank. "We have retrieved the SIM card that was found in the water. We will find the details in the SIM card to ascertain the identity of the deceased," said the officer.

Police have registered an accidental death case. "We are going through the list of missing complaints registered in the city. We suspect that the case might be an incident of drowning but are investigating further," said the officer.


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HC to hear illegal hoardings case on Thursday

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 20 Juni 2013 | 22.23

MUMBAI : Bombay high court will hear today public interest litigation for removal of illegal political banners and hoardings.

On March 13, 2013 the court had directed all municipalmunicipal corporations and councils in Maharashtra to remove illegal political banners and hoardings within 24 hours. The court has also warned of action against commissioners/ chief executive officers.

A division bench of Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice A P Bhangale had suo motu notice issued on February 7, 2013 to municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte. The notice was issued after the court was satisfied with the compliance report of the Satara Municipal Council after it took action against illegal hoadings.

Satara Municipal Council - A PIL was filed by Suswarajya Foundation seeking direction to the Satara Municipal Council to take action against illegal hoardings/ flex boards, banners and posters. The Foundation moved HC saying light and air is obstructed on account of these hoardings/flex boards and banners. Also that many owners of the boards are politicians and non-payments of revenue to SMC has actually benefited them.


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HC to hear PIL on illegal constructions in Thane district

MUMBAI: Bombay high court will hear on Thursday a public interest litigation regarding illegal and unauthorised constructions in Thane district.

On April 18, 2013 the court had directed the State 's Urban Development Department to file a comprehensive status report on action taken on such unauthorised constructions

A division bench of Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud and Justice Amjad Sayed were hearing a public interest litigation by an NGO Harit Vasai Sanrakshan Samiti raising concern over thousands of illegal structures and encroachments in Vasai - Virar belt. The court then expanded the scope of the petition to entire Thane district and directed all encroachments be demolished by December 31, 2010. The matter came up for hearing after over two years.

Petitioner's advocate Uday Warunjikar said in August 2010 a statement was issued UDD showing action taken on unauthorised constructions on public lands in Thane district. According to this statement, there were 2,10,363 encroachments, notices were issued to 2,10,344 and 18,436 were removed.

The judges said since two years have lapsed (since the matter was heard) it is appropriate that the court should be apprised of the factual position of unauthorised constructions and also the status of cases in the trial court. They have directed a comprehensive report to be submitted to the court at the next hearing on June 20, 2013.


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HC to hear pleas against national anthem gaffe on Thursday

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court will hear today two public interest litigation seeking direction to the State government to withdraw text books in which 'Sindh' has been replaced in the national anthem with Sindhu'' .

The first petition filed by Mulund resident Dakshata Shet, said she noticed the change in the latest Standard X Geography textbook of Marathi Medium school printed by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. The change is also reflected in the English medium Geography textbooks,'' Shet told TOI. The second petition was by Arjun Pawar regarding saying the history text books also contain the same gaf

In her petition, Shet has pointed out that the Supreme Court, as well as the Bombay High Court, have ruled that the national anthem should not be amended even if geographical changes take place in India. These rulings are specifically in relation to the word 'Sindh'', '' the petition adds.

Shet's petition also urged the court to direct the government to reprint new textbooks with the correct national anthem and to register a cognisable offence against the concerned persons for exhibiting disrespect towards the national anthem and towards the nation as a whole.''


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Ailing Mumbai elephant put under care of vet from Guwahati

MUMBAI: The plight of an ailing old elephant has galvanised celebrities including actor Amitabh Bachchan and activist alike, and the pachyderm has now been put under the care of a specialised vet from Guwahati.

The 58-year-old female elephant, Bijlee, had collapsed last week in suburban Mulund due to weakness, said activist Ganesh Nayak, of the NGO, Animals Matter To Me.

Prior to that, she had fallen into a creek and injured her hind legs and suffering various problems ever since.

Bijlee had apparently been used during marriage ceremonies by the couple who own her.

"We brought in a veterinary doctor Kushal Sharma from Guwahati to treat the ailing female elephant. He specialises in treating elephants and is advising a medical team on how to continue treating Bijlee," Nayak said.

Several celebrities, prominent among them Big B, and online activists have been tweeting and sharing posts on social networking sites to garner support for the hurt giant.

Bachchan took to Twitter to make an appeal to contribute for treatment and upkeep of the "gentle giant".

Nayak said Bijlee has been given proper medical treatment which will last eight days and none of her organs has been damaged. "Her blood count is also normal," he added.


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Maharashtra should extend health benefits to ragpickers

MAHARASHTRA: In a much welcome move that would provide essential health services to an otherwise ignored population, the Union Cabinet earlier this month announced that ragpickers and waste-pickers would now be included in the RashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojana (RSBY), a flagship scheme of the Union government which provides health insurance.

Social groups working for the benefit of this group however expressed concern that the government of Maharashtra was withdrawing the scheme from the state in the wake of its poor implementation. The scheme is being withdrawn also because of the introduction of another scheme called the Rajiv Gandhi JeevandayiYojana, which promises to cover 972 surgeries, therapies and procedures to identify poor population.

It has taken four years of public advocacy for ragpickers to get recognition under the central scheme. And it should not work to the disadvantage of those working in Maharashtra because of the government transitioning to another programme.

While no clear statistics are available, given the informal nature of the work, the Alliance of Indian Wastepickers (AIW), which is a conglomeration of 30 organizations working for the welfare of ragpickers, estimates that there are roughly two lakh waste- pickers in Maharashtra. AIW points out that these workers are an essential part of the recycling value chain in India. They further pointed out that the recovery and recycling of material diverts waste from landfills, saves municipal waste handling costs and conserves scarce resources,, underlining the fact that the RSBY promises to offer some succor to them.

Cuts, bruises and exposure to hazardous waste are all an occupational hazard for waste-pickers. Waste management is all the more hazardous in developing countries like India where garbage is not separated at the source. It is then essential that the Maharashtra government provides for their treatment at the earliest.


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Will strengthened monitoring boost mid day meal scheme?

MUMBAI: The HRD ministry this week announced the setting up of a 'state-of-the-art' system to monitor the mid-day meal scheme on a real-time basis. It proposed that the new system -the Inter Voice Response System—would enable data from every school to be uploaded on a daily basis. This would include details such as the number of children receiving food in a particular school. It also promises that any stakeholder, including community leaders can file a complaint regarding the quality of food.

However, the devil lies in the details. Ministry officials say it will be the responsibility of the head of the school to upload the website. What is the reliability of a monitoring mechanism that puts the very official liable to be accountable in charge of the accountability process? It is worth questioning how such a system would safeguard against fudging of the number of beneficiaries or food schedules.

The mid day meal scheme is the government's flagship school nutrition programme which covers more than 10.5 crore school children in over 12 lakh schools. The scheme has undoubtedly contributed to increasing school participation and tackling malnutrition among schoolgoers but the monitoring mechanism needs to be made more transparent and participatory. Involving school management committees (which consist of elected local representatives, parents and guardians of students) as were mandated under the Right To Education Act, could be one way to do this.


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Burglary at a cooperative bank in Marol Maroshi

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 19 Juni 2013 | 22.23

MUMBAI: Unidentified person broke the front door and entered a cooperative bank at Marol Maroshi locality in Andheri and made away with Rs43 lakhs cash. The incident occurred in between Saturday and Sunday night when the bank was closed, said the MIDC police.

The burglary came to light on Monday morning when the bank staff came to work. The MIDC police had registered a case of burglary. Police said the workers of the Excellent Co-operative Bank, located at Marol Maroshi Road in MIDC, the security guard of the bank pulled the shutters down on Saturday afternoon after the staff finished their work and went home. When the staff returned on Monday morning, one of the staff members found cash missing from the safe.

In the complaint, the bank officials said, The front door was found ajar. The accused have made away with the cash after the safe locker. No one from the locality heard or found anything about the burglary when occurred. "Police found out that the bank staff while signing off duty on Saturday evening has switched off the closed circuit television (CCTV). The CCTV was found switched off. The bank is situated at a narrow bylane surrounded by chawls. It is too early to tell an insider's hand in the break-in. We are finding out why the CCTV was switched off instead turned on," said MIDC police inspector Naresh Kasle.


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Minor girl raped by her friend's father in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Parksite police arrested a 45-year-old man for allegedly raping his daughter's friend at Powai garden on Thursday, last week. Accused Ramroop Pashi (45), a labourer residing at Parksite locality, was caught by the watchman of Powai garden at 1.30pm after he was found committing the offence.

A Parksite police officer said the watchman caught Pashi after which he was taken to the Powai police station. A case was registered with the Powai police and later transferred it to them for further investigations. "The victim is friend of Pashi's daughter and hence he knew her. The victim and Pashi's daughter work together," said the officer.

Probe revealed that Pashi's daughter eloped few days back. "Pashi accused the victim of helping her daughter to elope and hence threatened her to take police station. He falsely told the girl that a police officer has summoned her. He forced her into an autorickshaw from Parksite and took her to Powai garden where she was raped," said the police.

A watchman spotted this after which Pashi was held and the police were informed.


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Bijli is a true Mumbaikar

At 4500 kilos she is 1500 kilos overweight | Diet of vada pavs, desi ghee parathas chief culprit | Overworked, suffers from arthritic aches and pains | Needs to rest and go on a crash diet, prescribes doc.

Ailing elephant Bijli, who was rescued by animal activists from her abusive owner last week, was put on a strict diet by a vet flown in from Assam on Tuesday evening.

What Bijli, 60, has been asked to avoid - vadapav, oily parathas, desi ghee-laced rotis, and fruits with excessive sugar content -- could apply to a lot of us Mumbaikars fighting flab and its attendant problems.

Dr K K Sharma, elephant expert and a Central Zoo Authority member, is convinced that Bijli's weight - over 1,500 kilos more than the average 3,500 kilos for an adult elephant - is at the centre of all her troubles. "While one cannot expect Bijli to lose 1,500 kg, she must lose some so that her ageing, arthritis-ridden hind legs can take her weight," he said.

Currently, Bijli balances herself on her front legs and trunk, helped by a crane that holds her up the rear. Yet, she falls to her side every now and then. Every time she falls, the volunteers taking care of her at Car Craft, a sprawling garage owned by Sachin Satam in Mulund (west), push her back to her feet.

Nearly 40 volunteers of two NGOs - Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare and Animals Matter to Me - are attending to Bijli round-theclock. A shed has been raised in the garage to shield Bijli from rain.

Dr Sharma, after Bijli's preliminary examination, has ruled out any fractures. "She is obese. For years, she has been fed just about anything. In fact, the owner's family believes the pachyderm took ill because she stopped consuming desi ghee," he said.

From Wednesday, Bijli will be introduced to her new diet. It will be a gradual switch over because she going to hate her new meals. "We can't suddenly stop giving her what she has grown up on. But will move her to mixed grass and a few fruits that are low in sugar," Dr Sharma said.

The doctor said Bijli's condition is a cautionary tale for all pet owners who think feeding their dogs and cats what the rest of the family eats is an expression of love. "I was told Bijli is very finicky and eats only peeled bananas. Of course she will be finicky because she has been fed peeled bananas all these years. But who would have peeled the bananas for her in the wild; did anybody give that a thought?"

Dr Sharma said Bijli has been on an extremely high-calorie diet all her life. "With age, that has played havoc with her body," he said.

The doctor said an elephant in the wild consumes an average of 250 kg of grass and 200 litres water every day. "Because she was being used for begging for alms, she obviously ate all sorts of stuff people fed her and never got the right amount of water to digest it."

On Tuesday, Dr Sharma wrote a long prescription for Bijli and the course will start on Wednesday morning. But before that there will be a blood test to gather more information of her health. "One vital thing we need to find out is if she is suffering from rheumatism or osteoporosis," he said.

Some of the medicines that Bijli has been prescribed are:

1. IV fluid glucose saline

2. Vetalog- for pain and inflammation

3. Novizac-inorganic phosphorous -- main source of internal energy

4. Tribivete - vitamin

5. Neurokind plus vet - vitamin

While locals were demanding that the elephant be shifted to the Parel Animal Hospital, Dr Sharma has advised against this. He said the transportation could aggravate Bijli's injuries.


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Ailing elephant Bijli is a true Mumbaikar

At 4500 kilos she is 1500 kilos overweight | Diet of vada pavs, desi ghee parathas chief culprit | Overworked, suffers from arthritic aches and pains | Needs to rest and go on a crash diet, prescribes doc.

Ailing elephant Bijli, who was rescued by animal activists from her abusive owner last week, was put on a strict diet by a vet flown in from Assam on Tuesday evening.

What Bijli, 60, has been asked to avoid - vadapav, oily parathas, desi ghee-laced rotis, and fruits with excessive sugar content -- could apply to a lot of us Mumbaikars fighting flab and its attendant problems.

Dr K K Sharma, elephant expert and a Central Zoo Authority member, is convinced that Bijli's weight - over 1,500 kilos more than the average 3,500 kilos for an adult elephant - is at the centre of all her troubles. "While one cannot expect Bijli to lose 1,500 kg, she must lose some so that her ageing, arthritis-ridden hind legs can take her weight," he said.

Currently, Bijli balances herself on her front legs and trunk, helped by a crane that holds her up the rear. Yet, she falls to her side every now and then. Every time she falls, the volunteers taking care of her at Car Craft, a sprawling garage owned by Sachin Satam in Mulund (west), push her back to her feet.

Nearly 40 volunteers of two NGOs - Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare and Animals Matter to Me - are attending to Bijli round-theclock. A shed has been raised in the garage to shield Bijli from rain.

Dr Sharma, after Bijli's preliminary examination, has ruled out any fractures. "She is obese. For years, she has been fed just about anything. In fact, the owner's family believes the pachyderm took ill because she stopped consuming desi ghee," he said.

From Wednesday, Bijli will be introduced to her new diet. It will be a gradual switch over because she going to hate her new meals. "We can't suddenly stop giving her what she has grown up on. But will move her to mixed grass and a few fruits that are low in sugar," Dr Sharma said.

The doctor said Bijli's condition is a cautionary tale for all pet owners who think feeding their dogs and cats what the rest of the family eats is an expression of love. "I was told Bijli is very finicky and eats only peeled bananas. Of course she will be finicky because she has been fed peeled bananas all these years. But who would have peeled the bananas for her in the wild; did anybody give that a thought?"

Dr Sharma said Bijli has been on an extremely high-calorie diet all her life. "With age, that has played havoc with her body," he said.

The doctor said an elephant in the wild consumes an average of 250 kg of grass and 200 litres water every day. "Because she was being used for begging for alms, she obviously ate all sorts of stuff people fed her and never got the right amount of water to digest it."

On Tuesday, Dr Sharma wrote a long prescription for Bijli and the course will start on Wednesday morning. But before that there will be a blood test to gather more information of her health. "One vital thing we need to find out is if she is suffering from rheumatism or osteoporosis," he said.

Some of the medicines that Bijli has been prescribed are:

1. IV fluid glucose saline

2. Vetalog- for pain and inflammation

3. Novizac-inorganic phosphorous -- main source of internal energy

4. Tribivete - vitamin

5. Neurokind plus vet - vitamin

While locals were demanding that the elephant be shifted to the Parel Animal Hospital, Dr Sharma has advised against this. He said the transportation could aggravate Bijli's injuries.


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Richfeel to cheer Cancer patients with subsidized hair systems

MUMBAI: In an effort to reduce trauma and enrich the life of cancer patients, Richfeel -- India's leading trichology chain has embarked upon a social initiative to provide holistic solutions by offering free and subsidized hair systems to such patients. As part of the initiative, Richfeel conducted 'Look Good Feel Better', a fight against hair loss during cancer at Four Seasons Mumbai to motivate cancer patients towards the positive elements of life.

Roping in Menaxiben Shah and Rekhaben Shah Memorial trust on this social initiative, Richfeel will help cancer patients face the world with the same spirit and joyful demeanor as that of a healthy individual.

Gracing the event with their presence included the world's leading Trichologists and the pioneer of Trichology in India, Dr Apoorva Shah and Dr Sonal Shah, Founder of Richfeel, Mickey Mehta, India's leading Holistic Health Guru, Dr Jitesh Shetty, India's leading cosmetologist, anti-ageing specialist and hair transplant surgeon, and renowned ophthalmologist, Dr Vidhan Doshi.

Suggesting six tools to fight cancer led by Self-belief, spiritual, optimism, Constructive & responsible behavior, graceful compassionate words and positive thought process, Mickey Mehta called for constructive use of awareness and enlightenment and use love as a medium to dissolve everything.

Through its Look Good Feel Better program, Richfeel has pledged to provide confidence to cancer patients who lose hair, post-chemotherapy treatment. The trauma of baldness defeats the cancer patient's interest in life which can now be cured at Richfeel's 54 clinics every Monday across the country.

Furthermore this social initiative also has a panel of psychologists and beauticians supporting Richfeel's team of trichologist to help patients regain and retain their confidence. This session, conducted once in 3 months, will focus on image-enhancement, makeovers and provides for one-on-one consultancy to ensure patients fight their battle with cancer in positive frame of mind.

It is of public knowledge that the toll chemotherapy and radiation takes on Cancer patient affects his or her appearance, due to loss of their hair and in turns their confidence.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr Apoorva Shah, Founder of Richfeel, world's leading trichologist and the pioneer of Trichology in India, said," The individuals suffering from cancer have always had a special place in my heart and it is a pleasure to be hosting this noble event. If you are fighting cancer with treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the chances of losing hair become inevitable and when it happens, causes great trauma to the already affected individual. If we can help them look better and thus feel better about themselves, it's a small part to play."

The event was graced by cancer survivors followed by the felicitation of the India's leading; NGO's , who make every effort for raising funds for the cancer patients. India's leading doctors, who treat patient with compassion and strive to heal the cancer ailment were also felicitated at the event.


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Vitamin D deficiency leads to obesity amongst urban children

MUMBAI: Vitamin D deficiency leads to obesity as well as increased risk of other health complications in children, experts believe. 15% of urban children are obese in Maharashtra; and it is predicted to double in the next 5 years. Obese children face an increased risk of Vitamin D deficiency because they tend to absorb vitamin D in their fat stores, which prevents it from being utilized in their blood. Vitamin D is one of the most important "vitamins" to overall human health and vital functioning of human body.

Inadequate exposure to sunlight also acts as a contributing factor causing Vitamin D deficiency. With rapidly changing lifestyle, children too prefer to remain indoors engaging in activities like watching television, playing video games or spending a lot of time with computers that makes them physically unfit. Vitamin D is fat soluble, excess body fat will pull vitamin D out of circulation thus contributing to deficiency.

Research shows that about 75% of human body's supply of Vitamin D is generated by our skin's exposure to sunlight (UV-B rays in particular). Further, vitamin D deficiency plays a big role in problem related to metabolism and weak metabolism eventually leads to obesity. In addition, 10% increase in Body Mass Index reduces 4.2% level of vitamin D in human body. Therefore, for obese children it becomes inevitable to expose to sunlight and raise the vitamin D level.

"Maintaining appropriate levels of vitamin D is critical because it influences nearly 3,000 of the roughly 25,000 genes in the human body. Sufficient vitamin D levels assist the body in not only reducing bad cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol but also help in a multitude of essential repair and maintenance activities," says Dr S C Sankhe of Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP).

Vitamin D deficiency plus obesity, combined, increases your risk of developing diabetes, heart diseases and some types of cancer much more than just obesity or just low Vitamin D. Vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones as well as other functions, is made in the skin after exposure to sunlight but can also be obtained through the diet and through supplements.

"Lifestyle, diet & lack of exercise lead to Vitamin D deficiency in today's general population. Many of common disease are due to hypovitaminosis of Vitamin D," adds Dr Sankhe.


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