As soon as the pen cap was removed, the girl felt better

Mumbai: A 10-year-old girl required part of her lung to be removed after a pen cap remained lodged near her left lower lobe bronchus for over seven years, as multiple doctors misdiagnosed her abnormal X-ray as tuberculosis or asthma.Speaking to TOI, the girl’s mother, Dharavi resident Maimuna Shaikh, said that when symptoms like a persistent cough and sudden weight loss appeared, several clinicians treated her for suspected infectious diseases and prescribed antibiotics. She was then referred to a BMC hospital, where doctors put her on presumptive TB treatment even though her sputum sample was negative.A resident doctor, who was with the hospital then and was partly involved in Mysha’s case, said this was likely one of the rare instances where an exact diagnosis was very difficult to establish given the location of the object, and treatment was provided based on clinical presentation.

“We cannot just give out the Anti-Koch’s Therapy (AKT) regimen unless there is a strong indication. The treatment even with a negative result is useful for future doctors to rule out TB,” the doctor said.Even after the TB treatment, when Maimuna saw her child not getting any better, she took her to another private hospital, where doctors told the family Mysha had asthma and prescribed an inhaler for relief.Dr Indu Khosla, a pulmonologist at SRCC Children’s Hospital (Narayana Health) who was involved in the case, said that most doctors saw pneumonia that would not resolve and prescribed anti-TB medicines. “Further investigations for a foreign body inside the lung should have been suspected, but these are differences of opinion, and doctors cannot be blamed for it,” she said.She added that a CT scan showed a collapsed lung, and because the rest of the organ appeared normal, she suspected an external foreign body. “On the bronchoscopy, we saw a pen cap deeply embedded, we had to involve our ENT team and use more anaesthesia to be able to pull it out,” Dr Khosla said.As soon as it was removed, Mysha felt much better. “About two to three weeks after the procedure, her pneumonia, which involved the left lower lobe and the middle lob, had reduced and was confined only to the lower lobe. The part of the lung that was not degenerated opened up,” Dr Khosla said.Doctors waited for a month to check if the rest of the affected lung would re-expand, but it did not. Because of heavy infection and irreversible tissue damage, they ultimately had to remove roughly one-third of her lung. Mysha is expected to live a normal life, but Maimuna said she almost lost her daughter to one clinical miss. “We have lost count of expenses so far,” she said.

MMRDA has completed nearly 90% of the work on the Mahalaxmi Multimodal Connectivity Project

Mumbai: Commuters are set to benefit from a major transport upgrade as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) nears completion of the Mahalaxmi Multimodal Connectivity Project, an integrated interchange that will connect the suburban railway, Metro Line 3 and Monorail networks through India’s first travelator-equipped skywalk.With nearly 90% of the work completed, the project aims to transform daily commuting by enabling seamless transfers between Mahalaxmi railway station, Metro Line 3 station and Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk Monorail station. Once operational, it is expected to reduce interchange time by around 20 minutes, making journeys faster and more convenient for thousands of passengers.The key feature of the project is a 283m-long and 11m-wide elevated pedestrian bridge designed to handle nearly 4,500 passengers per hour.

To ease movement, especially during peak hours, the facility will include six travelators with a combined length of 176m and two passenger lifts, ensuring accessibility for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and travellers carrying luggage.Officials said the project will significantly improve access to the Mumbai Monorail from south Mumbai and Worli while encouraging greater use of public transport by eliminating cumbersome and time-consuming transfers between different modes of travel.The project also showcases complex urban engineering in one of Mumbai’s most utility-dense corridors. Before construction began, a massive 1,800mm-diameter storm-water drain was successfully relocated, while nearby water supply and sewerage pipelines remained operational throughout the work, ensuring uninterrupted civic services.An official told TOI that the infrastructure was built without felling a single tree. Construction activities were coordinated with traffic authorities to minimise disruption, while even annual Ganesh immersion processions along Sane Guruji Marg continued unhindered.MMRDA officials said the project is more than just a pedestrian bridge. It represents a crucial step towards creating an integrated public transport ecosystem where Metro, Monorail and suburban rail services function as a single, connected network, offering Mumbai commuters safer, quicker and more efficient travel options.

Mumbai: The East region cyber police station on July 23 registered a case against unknown mobile users for publishing and transmitting material depicting children in sexually explicit acts on social media.The case was registered after the cyber police received a complaint from the state govt, alerting it through a “tip line” about videos and photos related to child sexual abuse being uploaded on social media, and the information also contained mobile numbers.A cyber police officer said information about various social media users exchanging child sexual abuse material on social media platforms was received from the Cybercrime Coordination Center I4C, which coordinates with investigating agencies in the country, and that this information was called a tip line.

“This report contains information such as the user’s name, email ID, IP address, mobile number, etc, as well as videos or photographs uploaded by the user related to child sexual abuse. The received information is analysed, and appropriate action is taken by sending the information to the concerned police station,” said the officer.On July 17, the East cyber police station received information via email through the anonymous operational system under two tip lines. “Upon analysing the information from tip lines, it was observed that tip line, which uploaded videos and photos related to child sexual abuse, contained mobile numbers. In connection with the inquiry into the said tip lines, information and videos were downloaded from the relevant NCCRP portal,” said the cyber police.On July 18, a detailed panchnama (witness report) was conducted in the presence of two witnesses. In the complaint, assistant inspector SS Gaikwad said: “All the said PDF files and MP4 files have been securely stored. However, it has come to light that the mobile numbers mentioned in tip line were used to disseminate objectionable child sexual abuse material through internet on social media platforms, and were being misused. Therefore, a complaint has been filed by the govt against the person who committed the crime using the aforementioned mobile number,” said the officer.The cyber forensic teams are working on gathering details of the internet protocol (IP) address used to upload the objectionable videos and photos, and details have also been sought about the mobile numbers used in the offence.