As a 14-year-old, Mohit Dalvi had saved his 10-year-old neighbour from drowning in the Banganga Tank; he now needs funds to pay for a bone marrow transplant for his sibling
Rupesh Dalvi is Mohit's elder brother
Three years after winning a bravery award for saving a girl from drowning, 18-year-old Mohit Dalvi is running from pillar-to-post to save another life. This time, that of his brother Rupesh, who needs a bone marrow transplant.
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Mohit won the hearts of Mumbaikars when he jumped into the Banganga Tank to save his 10-year-old neighbour, Krishna Pashtye, in April 2015. Her leg had got stuck in a ditch 25 feet deep in the water and he saved her after a lot of effort. In 2016 he received the National Children's Bravery Award for this. mid-day had reported on both these stories.
Funds needed
Today Mohit is fighting hard to save Rupesh. The brothers lost their parents to tuberculosis some years back. Rupesh is suffering from aplastic anaemic in which the bone marrow stops producing enough red blood cells. Every 15 days Mohit takes him to the JJ Hospital for a blood transfusion. A bone marrow transplant will cost Rs 28 lakh.
"By the age of 12, I lost both of my parents to TB. Rupesh is the only family I have. He had started working so that he could take care of me and finance my education. Now he has become too weak even to stand on his feet. He needs a bone transplant immediately or else, I will lose him too," said a worried Mohit. He has stopped going to college to help look after Rupesh.
'A huge amount'
Mohit has been financing the treatment with the help of a relative and friends. They have approached several trusts to raise the funds, which has helped them collect around Rs 12 lakh but they are still short of Rs 16 lakh. "I work as an operator in a travel agency which barely helps pay for our livelihood and for Mohit's education. We need such a huge amount for the transplant. It really pains me to me to see him run from pillar-to-post like this," said Rupesh.
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