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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city...

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city will get a ‘Hindu Marathi’ person to head India’s richest civic body, while the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also harbour fond hopes of a miracle that could ensure their own person for the post. The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) optimism stems from expectations of possible political permutations-combinations that could develop with a realignment of forces as the Supreme Court is hearing the cases involving the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party this week. Catapulted as the largest single party, the BJP hopes to install a first ever party-man as Mayor, but that may not create history. Way back in 1982-1983, a BJP leader Dr. Prabhakar Pai had served in the top post in Mumbai (then Bombay). Incidentally, Dr. Pai hailed from Udupi district of Karnataka, and his appointment came barely a couple of years after the BJP was formed (1980), capping a distinguished career as a city father, said experts. Originally a Congressman, Dr. Pai later shifted to the Bharatiya Janata Party, then back to Congress briefly, founded the Janata Seva Sangh before immersing himself in social activities. Second Administrator The 2026 Mayoral elections have evoked huge interest not only among Mumbaikars but across the country as it comes after nearly four years since the BMC was governed by an Administrator. This was only the second time in the BMC history that an Administrator was named after April 1984-May 1985. On both occasions, there were election-related issues, the first time the elections got delayed for certain reasons and the second time the polling was put off owing to Ward delimitations and OBC quotas as the matter was pending in the courts. From 1931 till 2022, Mumbai has been lorded over by 76 Mayors, men and women, hailing from various regions, backgrounds, castes and communities. They included Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Sikhs, even a Jew, etc., truly reflecting the cosmopolitan personality of the coastal city and India’s financial powerhouse. In 1931-1932, the Mayor was a Parsi, J. B. Boman Behram, and others from his community followed like Khurshed Framji Nariman (after whom Nariman Point is named), E. A. Bandukwala, Minoo Masani, B. N. Karanjia and other bigwigs. There were Muslims like Hoosenally Rahimtoola, Sultan M. Chinoy, the legendary Yusuf Meherally, Dr. A. U. Memon and others. The Christian community got a fair share of Mayors with Joseph A. D’Souza – who was Member of Constituent Assembly representing Bombay Province for writing-approving the Constitution of India, M. U. Mascarenhas, P. A. Dias, Simon C. Fernandes, J. Leon D’Souza, et al. A Jew Elijah Moses (1937-1938) and a Sikh M. H. Bedi (1983-1984), served as Mayors, but post-1985, for the past 40 years, nobody from any minority community occupied the august post. During the silver jubilee year of the post, Sulochana M. Modi became the first woman Mayor of Mumbai (1956), and later with tweaks in the rules, many women ruled in this post – Nirmala Samant-Prabhavalkar (1994-1995), Vishakha Raut (997-1998), Dr. Shubha Raul (March 2007-Nov. 2009), Shraddha Jadhav (Dec. 2009-March 2012), Snehal Ambedkar (Sep. 2014-March 2017). The last incumbent (before the Administrator) was a government nurse, Kishori Pednekar (Nov. 2019-March 2022) - who earned the sobriquet of ‘Florence Nightingale’ of Mumbai - as she flitted around in her full white uniform at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic, earning the admiration of the citizens. Mumbai Mayor – high-profile post The Mumbai Mayor’s post is considered a crucial step in the political ladder and many went on to become MLAs, MPs, state-central ministers, a Lok Sabha Speaker, Chief Ministers and union ministers. The formidable S. K. Patil was Mayor (1949-1952) and later served in the union cabinets of PMs Jawaharlal Nehru, Lah Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi; Dahyabhai V. Patel (1954-1955) was the son of India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; Manohar Joshi (1976-1977) became the CM of Maharashtra, later union minister and Speaker of Lok Sabha; Chhagan Bhujbal (1985-1986 – 1990-1991) became a Deputy CM.

Docs remove 1.25 kg fibroid uterus

Mumbai: In a noteworthy medical feat, doctors at a private hospital extricated a massive 1.25 kg Fibroid Uterus from a civic school-teacher through a bloodless ‘minimally invasive keyhole surgery’, officials said.

 

The patient is 49-year-old who suffered from severe anemia and abnormal uterine bleeding due to multiple fibroids for a long time, and a team of medicos led by Dr. Hemakshi Mehta performed a total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) on her last week.

 

“The patient dismissed her bleeding as part of perimenopause, silently endured the worsening symptoms for years, and unwittingly lived with more than 10 fibroids, some as big as 7-8 cms,” explained Dr. Mehta post-surgery.

 

A scan confirmed an enlarged uterus – the size of a 6-month pregnancy – and with the school vacations on, the patient opted for the surgery to remove her fibroid uterus and end her long burden of suffering.

 

Though the MIKS is considered safer with quicker recovery, the laparoscopic hysterectomy for such a large uterus is also technically complex, admitted the doctor.

 

Accepting the medical challenge, Dr. Mehta and her team made four tiny abdominal incisions, using precision instruments to remove the uterus in pieces via morcellation.

 

“The procedure avoided a large 6-8 inch abdominal cut, and it offered all the advantages of a MIKS to the patient, like less pain, reduced blood loss, minimal scarring and faster healing,” said Dr. Mehta of the Apex Superspeciality Hospital, Borivali.

 

A critical aspect of the entire procedure was ureterolysis, carefully identifying and safeguarding the ureters, which are at higher risk during laparoscopic procedures involving distorted pelvic anatomy.

 

Accordingly, the medicos meticulously dissected the retroperitoneal space, ensuring safe removal of the huge fibroid uterus without any complications.

 

Women should heed fibroid signs

Dr. Hemakshi Mehta of the ASH Borivali, said that women often ignore fibroid-related symptoms until it is too late or complicated and this case also highlighted the power of early intervention besides the value of MIKS expertise along with safe, advanced surgical care.

 

“In this patient, we managed a totally bloodless procedure, the patient was up and walking within 24 hours. She was discharged on the third day and is expected to make a full recovery within a week, significantly faster than the almost month-long recovery period that goes with the traditional open surgery,” a beaming Dr. Mehta told ‘The Perfect Voice’.

 

She added that such fibroids are common among women in the 30-50 age groups, but rare below 20 years, though the myomas tend to shrink post-menopause.

 

Not removing such growths can lead to clots, difficulty managing periods, pregnancy issues, urinary-related problems, bowel hassles, infertility, miscarriages, pregnancy effects on surrounding organs, etc., Dr. Mehta cautioned.

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