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

  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,...

Cheaper power for indusries in Maharashtra soon.

Narayan Rane


By Dheeraj Fartode

Hinting at sops for the industries in power tariff, Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane said Rs. 1 rebate is under consideration. The decision is aimed at providing a level playing field for industries and also enabling their competitiveness is not eroded by cheaper power available to industries in neighbouring states.
Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) at present is charging Rs 6.05 to Rs 7.65 per unit for industries. In comparison, neighbouring states like Chattisgarh and Gujarat are offering power at more cheaper rates. The industries in Maharashtra have long been asking for rebate, saying they need to have a competitive rate to remain in competition.
Talking to newspersons during his visit to city, Rane said that power tariff revision may be decided within this financial year.
When asked about industrial gain for Vidarbha after ‘Advantage Vidarbha’, the Industries Minister expressed happiness that many industrialists are inquiring about investment prospected in the region and this is a good sign. “I am personally tracking all communication regarding industries,” Rane revealed further. However he could not explain advantages for Vidarbha in the new industrial policy announced for State.
Answering a question about single window system for industries desiring investment in Nagpur, Rane opined “there is manpower crunch in Forest and Environment Department and we are still in process of preparing a system but it will takes time without giving any stipulated time frame.”
The Industries Minister refused to take any querries on objectionable comments of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar or relations between Congress-NCP.

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