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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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Speaker suspends Rana, supporters resort to Veerugiri

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Supporters of MLA Ravi Rana agitation at building on Wednesday. 

  • Cops shoo away unruly protestors who climbed atop a building to hog limelight 


By Dheeraj Fartode
Demanding statehood to Vidarbha, supporters of independent MLA Ravi Rana climbed atop a building situated right opposite Vidhan Bhavan and threatened to jump, after Rana was suspended on Wednesday for a day from Assembly for his unruly behaviour. However, city police nabbed the agitators well in time and foiled their attempt to hog the limelight.

Earlier, MLA Rana and his supporters protested at stair case of Vidhan Bhavan at 10.30 am and shouted slogans demanding separate Vidarbha state and immediate relief to farmers. Ususally, the sitting legislators and in exceptional cases former legislators are allowed sit-in at stair-case, but rank outsiders are not allowed to use this privilage.

Adopting tough stance, Marshals of the Vidhan Bhavan forced Rana’s supporters to leave the spot. During the proceeding of the Vidhan Bhavan, MLA Rana entered legislative assembly with posters and with a cap with written words Jai Vidarbha.

Speaker Dilip Walse Patil asked Rana to remove posters and maintain decorum. When his repeated pleas failed to have desired effect, he warned Rana of suspension and later suspended him for one day. Talking with mediapersons, Rana said that the state government is doing injustice with farmers of the Vidarbha. Around 200 farmers of Amravati District have committed suicide this year, he said. Government should announce immediate relief to heavy rain affected farmers, he demanded.

Supporters of MLA Rana then climbed atop a building situated at opposite side of Vidhan Bhavan at 11.30 am and started sloganeering for statehood to Vidarbha. Some agitators also stood on parapet wall of the building. Staff of city police rushed to the spot and managed to pacify the agitators. Cops have arrested MLA Rana and agitators including Shailendra Kasture, Dipak Jaltare, Mangesh Kokate, Aminoddin, Bandu Jadhav, Dhiran Kene, Milind Waghade, Rahim Khan, Jitu Dhudhane and others.


Speaker asks Marshal to take a defiant Rana out 



MLA Ravi Rana at Vidhan Bhavan premises. 
As soon as question hour started on Wednesday morning, Independent MLA from Badnera (Amravati District) Ravikumar Rana, who had tied up banner demanding separate Vidarbha State, got up from his seat. Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil ticked off Rana saying this is not as per the decorum of the House and asked him to take his seat. But disregarding Chair’s directive, Rana suddenly stepped forward into the well of the Assembly and started shouting pro-Vidarbha slogans in front of Speaker. The Speaker again asked Rana to occupy his seat but finally the MLA was suspended for one day. When Rana refused to leave, Walse-Patil repeatedly asked him to go out but he was not moving. Finally Speaker ordered Marshalls to physically evict Rana from the house.

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