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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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Security beefed-up in city after terror alert

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By Dheeraj Fartode

SECURITY got beefed-up in second capital and special searches were carried out at malls after city police received specific alert from Maharashtra police headquarters. Throughout the day police patrolling was intensified in sensitive areas and police presence stepped at key installations including Railway station.
Sources said that an alert was sounded about terrorist strike on July 21 in major cities of Maharashtra including Pune and Mumbai and at Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. The alert based on intercepts said that anti-national elements may also hijack planes from small airstrips or attack at Railway station. Following this authorities have beefed up security at airports, railway station and sensitive areas, the sources claimed.
The sources further informed that July is a worrying month for Maharashtra police as a string of blasts--such as the serial train blasts of 2006, and triple blasts of 2011-- have in the past occurred in this month. The railway police has asked its force to be extra alert as monsoon was happy hunting ground for extremists and now IB provided specific alert for Pune and Mumbai railway, it was reliably learnt.
Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Saxena told ‘The Hitavada’ that city police conducted searches in view of upcoming festival season and also aimed to create general alertness among the people. Special searches were also conducted in sensitive areas of city.
A platoon of Quick Response Team (QRT) was specially deployed at Nagpur railway station from Saturday night along with additional force of Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF).
Senior Divisional Security Commandant (Sr DSC) Ibrahim Shariff told ‘The Hitavada’, “We have regulated entry to railway station through East and Western sides and rest of all points were closed as a precautionary measure. Foot patrolling in railway station premises has been increased and checks were also carried out using dog squads.” We are checking every passenger luggage, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) is also on stand-by,” the officer added.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, is also on high alert.

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