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A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

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  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
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Police conducts special nakabandi

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Police Nakabandi

Entire city police force right from Commissioner of Police to Police Constable were on their toes on Tuesday night for a special nakabandi carried on to capture criminals and anti-social elements. The sudden orders to conduct this massive checking drive were given by new Commissioner of Police K K Pathak following a credible input received from intelligence agencies about possible trouble on December 6. Exactly 20 years ago, the disputed Babri structure at Ayodhya was demolished and since then intelligence agencies are keeping a close watch on elements which may foment trouble to disturb communal harmony. Though such warnings have become almost routine, the police force is taking no chance this time as well.

This time, the entire Maharashtra Police has been asked to remain on high alert. The Director General of Police asked top police officials across the state to personally lead the force and undertake massive combing exercise. Especially four wheelers are being checked. A senior police officer confirmed that all top officials including Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Saxena, Additional Commissioner of Police Anant Shinde, DCPs Kailash Kanse, Mangaljeet Siram, Chandrakishor Meena, Sanjay Darade, all ACPs, all Police Inspectors and their sub-ordinate staff maintained vigil on every major city streets. Even in notorious slum areas, betting dens, liquor bars and eating joints, the operation was carried out to identify trouble mongers. In rural area, Nagpur SP Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma, Additional SP Prakash Jadhav led the force.

Till the filing of this report, the entire force was visible in every part of city. Sudden presence of such a large number of personnel and senior officers took citizens by surprise. Apart from routine checks like drunken driving, special emphasis of entire operation was to nab history-sheeters and probable trouble makers. On the eve of Winter Session, the second capital otherwise also gets a thick security blanket. During coming days, similar surprise checks will be conducted in various parts of city. With additional force coming to Nagpur to maintain vigil during winter session, citizens will have to undergo such special nakabandi for security reasons.
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