Veteran actor Pankaj Dheer passed away at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer on Wednesday, October 15. He was best known for playing the iconic role of Karna in BR Chopra’s 1988 TV series Mahabharat.

Pankaj’s last rites will take place in Vile Parle, Mumbai, on Wednesday. Reportedly, the actor’s cancer had relapsed a few months ago, leaving him critically ill. He had also undergone major surgery related to his condition.

An official statement from CINTAA (Cine & TV Artistes’ Association) was released on Wednesday, confirming the news of Dheer’s demise: “With profound grief and deep sorrow, we inform you of the passing of our Trust’s erstwhile Chairman and CINTAA’s former Hon. General Secretary, Shri Pankaj Dheer ji, on 15th October 2025. The cremation will be held today at 4:30 pm, next to Pawan Hans, Vile Parle (W), Mumbai.”

Born on November 9, 1956, in Punjab, Pankaj Dheer came from a family with strong ties to the film industry. He was married to Anita Dheer and had a son, actor Nikitin Dheer, who is married to actress Kratika Sengar.

Pankaj’s father, C.L. Dheer, was also a renowned film director.

Dheer’s career spanned several decades, during which he became a household name in Indian television. He starred in several television shows including Chandrakanta, Badho Bahu, Zee Horror Show, and Kanoon, as well as films such as Soldier, Andaz, Baadshah, and Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge.

He also appeared in several Bollywood films, including Sadak, Soldier, and Baadsha.

Pankaj was last seen in the 2024 serial Dhruv Tara – Samay Sadi Se Pare, where he played the role of Giriraj Seth. He was also seen in the 2019 web series Poison.

Pankaj Dheer’s family is yet to issue an official statement.

Mumbai: Two persons were injured in a fire that broke out in the early hours of Wednesday at a residential building in Goregaon West. The fire was extinguished within half an hour. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The incident occurred at Atul CHS Ltd., Siddharth Nagar, near Vivek College, and was reported at 3:53 AM to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB). The fire was confined to room No. 203 on the second floor of a stilt plus seven-storey building.

It damaged electrical wiring and installations, an AC unit, household items, wooden furniture, mattresses, a bed, and books, said fire official. 

Firefighting teams successfully extinguished the blaze by 4:15 AM. Medical sources from Kokilaben Hospital confirmed that two residents, Rameela Saha (65) and Krunal Saha (40), suffered from smoke inhalation. Both were admitted to the emergency ward and are reported to be in stable condition. 

Mumbai: Mumbaikars have warned to hit the streets to save over 700 trees along the Eastern Express Highway (EEH), which are proposed to be axed to make way for Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) Rs 2,682 crore elevated road between Ghatkopar and Thane. Greens have expressed resentment against the removal of such a large number of trees, many of which are the highly admired rosy trumpet trees.

Motorists travelling between Ghatkopar and Thane through the EEH during winter get to observe the beautiful sight of pink flowers blooming in large numbers on the trees on both sides of the highway near Vikhroli.

The tabebuia rosea, commonly known as rosy trumpet, witnesses the blooming of pink flowers once a year and provides a feel of Japan’s cherry blossom trees. These trees become a major attraction point for commuters on the stretch during winter.

However, Mumbaikars might soon miss the sight of these pink trees as around 706 trees along EEH, including these rare trees, are likely to be cut down by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to make way for MMRDA’s three-lane elevated road spanning almost 13km to connect Ghatkopar’s Chheda Nagar with Thane’s Anand Nagar at a cost of Rs 2,682 crore.

The BMC has identified around 706 trees across N ward, T ward and S ward, and has put up notices on them, inviting suggestions and objections from citizens. Around 315 of these trees are likely to be cut permanently while the others will be transplanted.

Mumbaikars are opposing the civic body’s plan to axe the trees by writing to the authorities, making social media posts and signing an online petition. An online petition created by Naheed Contractor, opposing the cutting of trees, had received more than 2,200 signatures till Tuesday evening.

“This is a 12km stretch that is going to be affected and anyway the green patches that we once had are fading away slowly. We cannot remove over 700 trees just for another lane of cars to jam the highway,” read the petition.

Green activists have also condemned the plan of cutting the trees and demanded that the civic body should stress on replantation and pre-plantation of trees.

Subhajit Mukherjee, founder of Mission Green Mumbai, said, “It is our helplessness that we have to cut trees in the land starved city of Mumbai to fulfil the responsibility for people’s survival through infrastructure. However, the BMC is not putting any efforts in replantation and pre-plantation of trees being axed. There is no will to act in this direction and that is the reason that over one lakh trees are currently affected in the city due to over 4,000 redevelopment projects.”

A few greens have also warned of hitting the streets to protect the streets as they have called the plan unacceptable. “We have already lost a lot of trees to metro projects and now we cannot let them cause such a big destruction. This way, it seems that they are on a run to chop down all the trees in Mumbai. Building more roads to reduce traffic has never worked in this city and still they keep on destroying green spaces. We will write our objections to the BMC and will even hit the streets if they plan to go ahead,” said Natasha Perreira, a green activist from Bandra.

On Tuesday, morning walkers hugged the trees in a symbolic ‘Chipko Movement’ to oppose the notices put up by BMC regarding the cutting of trees.