Burglary at a cooperative bank in Marol Maroshi

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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25-year-old woman fought chain snatcher and helped cops to nab him

MUMBAI: A 25-year-old software engineer fought and caught a chain-snatcher, with the help of patrolling cops, who tried to flee allegedly after snatching her gold chain on Tuesday evening in Wadala locality. The incident occurred when Dattatray Mane was walking down to her house when the accused Shankar Pisal (25) followed them and on reaching an isolated place charged on her and snatched away with her gold chain worth Rs30,000, said the Wadala police.

Pisal a resident of Anand wadi in Wadala was released from jail a fortnight ago arrested in a case of chain snatching. "While we were patrolling, we heard a woman screaming for help. We also noticed a man running towards us while in we were our jeep. Three constables jumped out of the jeep and nabbed the snatcher before he could escape," said a senior police officer of Wadala police station.

The three constables -- Mangesh Bhabal, Anil Duvatkar and Baliram More -- have been rewarded with cash worth Rs 1,000 each. Unlike the chain snatchers who use bikes, Pisal use to snatch chain and run. He could run at a brisk pace and use to target women at secluded locations. During the probe the police learnt that Pisal has committed over half-a-dozen of chain snatchings in the past.
Police suspect Pisal was also involved in a chain-snatching incident in Wadala on Tuesday night. The victim Rohini Maladkar (54), a resident of Siddharth Nagar in Wadala was heading towards her residence along with her sister when an unidentified person came near her and snatched her chain.

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Two nabbed for stabbing a porter

MUMBAI: The Sion police on Wednesday arrested two men for allegedly killing and robbing a 40-year-old porter at Sion (east) early on Tuesday morning. The accused before fleeing also robbed victim AchchelalNishad's colleague Kedar Patel (35) of his mobile and cash Rs 2, 600.

The victim and his colleague have been heading towards their work at around 5.10am when three persons grabbed them from behind. Nishad, who gave a stiff resistance, was attacked with knife. "Patel escaped with minor injuries on his left thumb. The trio ran away from the spot. Ajay Devender (19) and Kartok Soni (22) were arrested from Antop Hill slums. Search is on to track down the third accused in the case," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V) Dhananjay Kulkarni.

The incident occurred 5.30am on P Chidambaran Road in Sion-Matunga locality when Nishad and Patel both labourers at Matunga Vegetable Market were on their way for work. "Patel tried to save the victim by rushing him to the Sion hospital but was declared death before admission due to excess loss of blood. The accused after robbing the victims, stabbed on Nishad's chest," said Sion police inspector Baburao Gawit.

In the complaint, Patel said, "We (I and Nishad) are residents from Antop Hill-Wadala locality. They walk down early morning daily to reach the market to start work when the three overpowered both of us."

One of the accused overpowered Patel while two others assaulted Nishad. "The accused searched Nishad's and Patel's pant and shirt pocket and robbed them. Before fleeing they stabbed Nishad," said the police.

A case of robbery with murder has been registered against the three accused. "Patel said he has noticed the three following them for almost 30 minutes from their residence before they attacked them," said the police.

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Jaipur mayor supports cruelty-free cosmetic products

MUMBAI: In a letter to Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Jaipur Mayor, Jyoti Khandelwal, calls on India's government to end the import and sale of cosmetics newly tested on animals in support of Humane Society International/India's Be Cruelty-Freecampaign.

Khandelwal's letter praises India's move toward a nationwide ban on animal testing for cosmetics, but contends that a domestic testing ban alone "does not prevent companies from outsourcing animal testing to other countries and then importing their newly animal tested products or ingredients back into India." Thus, it is also necessary for India to ban the import and sale of any cosmetic product or formulation subject to new animal testing, Khandelwal notes.

Alokparna Sengupta, HSI/India's Be Cruelty-Freecampaign manager, said: "Humane Society International is committed to seeing India become the next major cruelty-free cosmetics zone. We applaud the Drug Controller General for his support in ending animal testing for cosmetics within India, and are extremely grateful to Mayor Khandelwal for her leadership in pressing the government to also ban the import and sale of cosmetics that have been subject to new animal testing anywhere in the world."

The Be Cruelty-Freecampaign is part of Humane Society International's consumer, legislative, corporate and scientific initiative to end animal testing of cosmetics worldwide. Be Cruelty-Freehas been launched in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, India, New Zealand, South Korea and Russia, and in the United States is spearheaded by HSI's sister organisation, The Humane Society of the United States.

Show your support for an end to animal testing for cosmetics in India and worldwide, by signing a Be Cruelty-Free pledge today or giving a missed call to 080-4931-1223.

The term "cruelty-free cosmetics" refers to cosmetics products, formulations and ingredients that have not been tested on animals after a specified date because on that date they were already considered safe to use for cosmetic purposes. This does not mean the ingredients, formulations or products were not tested on animals in the past.

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Over 1,000 trees to be chopped for developmental projects

MUMBAI: In yet another incident of green cover being sacrificed for developmental projects, about 1,000 trees will be cut by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for several infrastructure projects in the city.

The proposals were approved by the civic tree authority on Wednesday.
The trees were required to be cut for road projects like Sion-Panvel Highway, a road leading to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Mankhurd and an elevated road leading to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at Andheri.

According to the civic officials, as many as 902 trees would be hacked for construction of Sion-Panvel Highway, which is required to felicitate traffic to the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport.

An elevated road leading to the Andheri international airport would require cutting of 32 trees.
The civic administration has assured to replant 534 trees of them. BJP corporator and tree authority member Ameet Satam said, "BMC should have a separate system to check whether the replanting of tree is done properly. An audit should also be done of replanting works."

In March, the tree authority had approved the proposal to cut 900 trees for the construction of a sewerage treatment plant at Colaba.

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