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India Today
5 days ago
- Health
- India Today
Hearing loss follows headphones: Listen to this ENT expert's sound advice
Back in 2015, a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) had cautioned how more than a billion teenagers and young adults were at risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) due to unsafe listening real terms, the threat manifests from a seemingly harmless habit: cranking up the sound on headphones or earphones. Advancing technology now offers sleeker and smarter listening devices that are pretty much embedded inside the is it all impacting the hearing capabilities of young individuals? Dr Murarji Ghadge, senior ENT surgeon at Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune, finds a noticeable shift in patterns of hearing loss in recent years. 'What was once thought to be a concern for the elderly is now increasingly being observed among adolescents and young adults,' he of the major contributors to this disturbing trend is the excessive and unsafe use of headphones and earphones. 'I have witnessed a clear uptick in young patients—school students, college-goers and early-career professionals—reporting symptoms of hearing difficulty, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), ear pain and a sense of fullness in the ear,' says Dr Ghadge. What do most of these cases have in common? Prolonged and high-volume use of listening gadgets. The silent culpritNIHL, while preventable, is one of the most common types of hearing damage among the young today. 'Unlike age-related hearing loss, NIHL can occur at any age due to exposure to loud sounds, especially over extended periods,' says Dr lifestyle contributes a lot to this. People listen to music or media at high volumes using earphones or headphones, particularly in noisy environments such as public transport. This often forces them to up the volume beyond the safe threshold of 85 decibels (dB), leading to potential hearing loss. 'Unfortunately, many personal audio devices allow volume levels to reach 100-110 dB. At those levels, permanent hearing damage can happen with as little as 15 minutes of daily exposure,' says Dr to watch out forA big concern is young individuals failing to realise the damage early on. 'The early warning signs include ringing or buzzing in the ears; difficulty in understanding speech, especially in noisy environments; needing to increase the volume of television or phone calls; and a feeling of muffled hearing after headphone use,' explains Dr Ghadge. Such symptoms, if ignored, can progress to irreversible hearing soundsWith screen-time increasing due to online learning, remote work and constant digital engagement, young individuals now spend hours on earphones or headphones. 'Add to this the rising popularity of gaming headsets and we have a generation that is constantly exposed to high-decibel audio, with little awareness of the risks involved,' says Dr good news is NIHL is entirely preventable. Dr Ghadge explains a practical 60/60 rule. 'Listen at no more than 60 per cent volume for no more than 60 minutes at a stretch,' he suggests. He also recommends noise-cancelling headphones as these allow users to hear audio clearly without increasing the volume in noisy important exercise is to take listening breaks. Regular hearing check-ups also help in early detection. 'Last but not the least, parents, teachers and schools need to proactively educate children about the risks of unsafe listening practices,' adds Dr Ghadge.'We must recognise that hearing is no longer an age-related concern. The digital age demands we update our approach to ear health, especially among the younger population,' says Dr Ghadge. The lowdown: listen responsibly and to India Today Magazine- Ends
Hindustan Times
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Engineers' union seeks reinstatement of civic officer transferred after Vile Parle Jain temple demolition
MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Engineers' Union (BMEU) has written to Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani, demanding the reinstatement and promotion of Navnath Ghadge, the assistant commissioner of K/East ward, who was abruptly transferred following the controversial demolition of a nearly 90-year-old Digambar Jain temple in Vile Parle East earlier this year. Mumbai--- 90-year-old Jain temple demolished in Mumbai's Vile Parle, Jain community holds protest rally at Vile Pare in Mumbai, India. HT Photo The temple, located within the premises of Neminath Cooperative Housing Society on Nehru Road, was razed on April 16 in compliance with a Bombay High Court directive. The civic body maintained that the temple structure was unauthorised and had been built without approvals in a residential building's open space. Officials involved in the demolition stated that care was taken to preserve the sanctity of the idol and carry out the process respectfully. However, the demolition triggered an intense backlash from sections of the Jain community, with support from ministers across political parties. Protesters alleged the action was carried out at the behest of a local businessman seeking to redevelop the plot for commercial use, including malls and hotels. The civic administration transferred Ghadge shortly after the protests, despite his recent appointment to the post on April 1, 2025. In its petition, the temple trust challenged the demolition in the Bombay High Court. But on July 7, Justice Gauri Godse upheld the BMC's action, stating that the structure was unauthorised and the demolition was lawful under Section 53(1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 2005. Following the court ruling, the BMEU argued that Ghadge had acted in accordance with legal orders and that his transfer was politically motivated. 'He executed the court-ordered demolition by following due process. Instead of being penalised, he should be honoured and reinstated,' said Sainath Rajyadaksha, acting president of BMEU. The union has demanded that Ghadge be reinstated as assistant commissioner of the K/East ward and promoted as deputy chief engineer (civil) as per a resolution passed on April 1, 2025. It warned of agitation if the demands were not met. A senior civic official, however, defended the decision to transfer Ghadge, stating that the issue was not the demolition itself, but the fact that he failed to consult senior officials before acting on a sensitive religious matter. 'He bypassed protocol. In similar cases—such as illegal shrine demolitions in Parel or Dharavi—the civic body took months and consulted top officials. This was an overreach on his part,' the official said. Currently, Ghadge is serving as deputy chief engineer in the BMC's Slum Sanitation Programme.
Hindustan Times
11-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
CBI files closure report in one more case against former CP Param Bir Singh
MUMBAI: In a relief to former Mumbai police commissioner (CP) Param Bir Singh and 32 others, the Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a closure report in a 2022 case based on a complaint lodged by a police inspector. The CBI said that the allegations of the inspector, B R Ghadge, who worked under Singh when he was Thane CP, 'could not be substantiated' and the case was sought to be closed for 'want of evidence'. Mumbai, India – August 31, 2018: Maharashtra ADG Param Bir Singh with Pune's Additional CP Shivaji Bodke (L) Dr. Shivaji Pawar (R) at a press conference about the house arrest of rights activists in Bhima Koregaon case, at DGP office, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, Aug 31, 2018. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT) (HT PHOTO) Among the 33 accused were 17 former and serving police officials and a few law officers and forensic officials. In January 2024, the CBI had submitted a closure report in another case, one of five cases against Singh and others, which it took over from the Kopri police station in Thane on the orders of the Supreme Court. When contacted, Singh told Hindustan Times, 'I only want to say: Satyamev Jayate (Truth alone triumphs)'. The former CP said that all the five cases against him were fabricated and registered at the behest of a former Mumbai police commissioner and some other police officers, and that criminal elements had been contacted to implicate him in the cases. The CBI closure report states that the complainant Ghadge had alleged that when he was probing a case concerning the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) registered with the Bazarpeth police station, Singh, on April 15, 2015, verbally directed him to send the report to the commissioner of KDMC, delete the name of the accused, and remove certain sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act from the case. Ghadge stated that after his refusal to do so, he was implicated in five police cases, including an Arms Act case, and was suspended from service as a result. The CBI also looked into Ghadge's other allegation that illegal directions on the Bazarpeth case were given to him again over the phone by Singh on April 22, 2015. The CBI's closure report, a copy of which is with HT, states that the April 15 and April 22 allegations were both unsubstantiated. The CBI probe found that Ghadge, along with D Kiratkar, his then colleague, had been called to Singh's office with the Bazarpeth case documents for discussion. Later, Kiratkar allegedly stated that after the discussion, when Ghadge came out of Singh's chamber, he informed him that Singh had directed him to favour some KDMC officials in the case. The CBI probe, however, concluded that Kiratkar's statement was 'only hearsay'. The closure report also states that as Kiratkar was an accused in a 2015 bribery case, his version 'could not be relied upon for being an interested party'. The report also states that Singh had told the complainant that if the KDMC officers had committed any irregularity, a lapse report in that respect should be sent to the KDMC commissioner, and in case money had exchanged hands to help builders, to send a report to the anti-corruption department and inform him as early as possible. 'The directions of April 22, 2015, do not contain elements of any criminality on the part of Param Bir Singh,' says the closure report. The assertion of the complainant that he had reported the alleged illegal directions received over the phone to Chandrakant Thorat, the then ACP, also has no corroboration, the closure report states. Thorat allegedly stated that the complainant did inform him about the call received from Singh but the contents of the discussion were not shared with him. Referring to the complainant's submission of CDs in this connection, the CBI said that they too could not substantiate the allegations of illegal verbal directions. The CBI also dubbed as 'unsubstantiated' Ghadge's allegation that Sanjay Jadhav, the then Thane deputy commissioner of police, Zone 03, did not allow the arrests of accused persons in the 2013 Bazarpeth police case. Jadhav told the CBI that Ghadge had not sought permission from him for the arrest of any accused person, and also stated that Ghadge had directly written a letter to Ravinder Kumar Singhal, the then Thane city additional commissioner of police, Crime. 'In response to the said letter, Singhal…sent a letter to Ghadge, saying that he (Ghadge) was the investigating officer of the case and the competent authority to make any arrest,' states the closure report. During the investigation, the CBI also examined the facts and circumstances of the five cases against Ghadge to ascertain if they were registered without legal justifications. The investigative body could not find evidence to substantiate Ghadge's allegations that they were false cases registered against him on the directions of Singh after he refused to follow his orders in the Bazarpeth case. However, the CBI also pointed out that the trial courts took cognisance of all of them, and ultimately Ghadge was discharged in four of the five cases.
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
CBI files closure report in pending FIR of ex-Mumbai police chief
THE CENTRAL Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a closure report in one of the four pending FIRs against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh last month. Five FIRs registered against Singh during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra had been transferred to the CBI when the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government came to power in the state. Of these five FIRs, the CBI had closed one FIR in January last year. The closure report filed by the CBI last month was in the FIR registered at Bazarpeth police station against Singh and 32 others based on the complaint given by former Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bhimrao Ghadge. The FIR had a total of 27 sections, including those relating to criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and some sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Act. In his written complaint to the Maharashtra government and the Director General of Police (DGP), Ghadge had alleged that Singh had tried to close the case against some builders and KDMC officials in 2015 despite there being evidence against them. When the court did not accept the closure report, Ghadge was asked to investigate the matter. Ghadge alleged that soon after he began investigating the case, Singh, who was the then Thane Police Commissioner, asked him to not name the accused in his enquiry report. He alleged that when he refused to follow the orders, Singh in collusion with some other officers got an FIR registered against Ghadge. In its closure report, the CBI said that the allegations made by Ghadge could not be substantiated, following which a closure report was being submitted in court. Three more cases that had been registered by the Maharashtra police, which were transferred to CBI, are pending with them.
Indian Express
02-07-2025
- Indian Express
Jewelry shop daylight heist: Three including mastermind arrested, minor detained
Pune city police have cracked the daylight armed robbery at a jewelry shop in Vadgaon Budruk area of Pune. The woman owner of the shop was seriously injured. Police have detained a 16-year-old minor and arrested three more suspects in their early 20s, including the mastermind of the heist. The incident had taken place around 1.30 pm on Tuesday at Shri Gajanan Jewellers located in Vadgaon Budruk area. Investigation revealed that two persons wielding a firearm and a sharp weapon barged into the shop. At the time of the robbery, the owner, identified as Mangal Ghadge, was alone in the shop. The robbers threatened her and started robbing the store at gunpoint and knifepoint. As the Ghadge resisted, one of them attacked her with a metal weapon on her head and hand. The two fled with gold weighing over 50 grams on the bike with the third suspect who was waiting outside on the bike. Mangal Ghadge along with her husband Shankar Ghadge owns the shop. A parallel investigation was launched by the teams from the Crime Branch and the Sinhagad Road police station. Initial clues were obtained by the investigator when they identified the suspects based on CCTV footage. The bike used in the crime was recovered from the detained minor. Based on the information obtained from the minor suspect and the clues obtained from other sources, the police arrested the three other suspects identified as Vardan Kharatmal (20), Amal Babhale (20) and Omkar Shinde (22). 'The minor suspect, Kharatmal and Babhale were the three suspects who had come on the bike. Shinde on the other hand was the one who masterminded the heist and asked the trio to execute it.' In the subsequent probe, the police recovered from the accused the gold ornaments worth Rs 4.5 lakh which included three gold chains and a gold necklace weighing around 50 grams, which were robbed from the shop.
