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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,...

Swadhar scheme for women in difficult circumstances

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing shelter based rehabilitation scheme ‘Swadhar’ for women in difficult circumstances. The beneficiaries include widows deserted by their families and relatives and left uncared near religious places where they are victims of exploitation. The beneficiaries are provided with primary need of shelter, food, clothing, counseling, medical and legal aid as also skill upgradation for economic rehabilitation. 311 Swadhar Shelter Homes are functioning across the country. Four Swadhar Shelter Homes are functioning at Vrindavan, Mathura, U.P. under the scheme. 

In compliance of the Order of Supreme Court dated 14.11.2008 in Writ Petition (Civil)No. 659 of 2007, (Environment & Consumer Protection Foundation Vs. Union of India and others), National Commission for Women (NCW) conducted a detailed study to inquire into the plight of widows living in Vrindavan of Mathura District in Uttar Pradesh. The study report was prepared and filed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in April 2010. 
NCW has entered into an MoU with Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) on 7th May 2013 to improve the living conditions of destitute women on the identified areas for facilities like women hostels, remand homes etc. or anything which is related to women welfare or development by enhancing quality of their habitat. The first initiative is being undertaken at Vrindavan for renovation and reconstruction of the shelter homes for the widows. 

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