Ailing elephant Bijlee dies

Bijlee, the 58-year-old ailing elephant rescued by individuals and NGOs sometime back, died here today.
"Bijlee's end came at 5.58 am today. The animal was critical for the last two days and did not respond to treatment yesterday. Our volunteers were maintaining a 24-hour vigil on it," Pawan Sharma, the representative of NGO RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare), said.
The female pachyderm was rescued a fortnight back in Mulund suburb of north-east Mumbai by the NGOs - Animals Matter to Me, RAWW, Jagdish Shetty of Swabhiman Sangthan and Raju Iyer of Thane.
The old tusker had collapsed at an industrial complex in Mulund earlier this month. Bijlee had injured its hind legs and was suffering from various problems ever since.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan had taken to the social media to appeal for help to save Bijlee. He made an appeal to contribute for the treatment and upkeep of the elephant.
Bijlee belonged to a couple who used it to beg for alms at marriages and other auspicious occasions and was allegedly abandoned by them.