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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| Shivaji Maharaj statue in Arabian sea, Mumbai |
- 190m high Statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
By Dheeraj Fartode
Statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will be constructed at an 18-acre islet, four km into the sea from Marine Drive and a km from Raj Bhavan. The proposed 309 feet grand memorial will come up on an 18-acre island four km into the sea from Marine Drive and one kilometer from the Raj Bhavan.
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| Shivaji Maharaj statue in Arabian sea, Mumbai |
A team of experts was asked to suggest an ideal location. After conducting feasibility survey of three sites in the Arabian Sea, the experts have drawn a conclusion that the islet, situated between the Governor's house and Navy Nagar, would be ideal for the statue. The Shivaji memorial will house an open-air theatre, a library and a museum showcasing the Maratha warrior's life. In 2009 the cost was pegged at Rs 350 crore. With delay in the project the cost is likely to escalate further.


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