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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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Congress to focus on strengthening organisation at ground level

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By Dheeraj Fartode
In the wake of defeat in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly polls held earlier this year, Congress party has decided to concentrate on strengthening the party organisation at ground level in not only Vidarbha region but also the State. 

All India Women’s Congress Committee chief Shobha Oza, on Sunday, said that Congress learnt from the defeat that there was a big communication gap between the Government and the party organisation. “Now, we are going to strengthen the organisation. A special drive would be conducted. The party will rise strongly against the rivals in coming days,” she said while addressing a press conference. 

Oza said that Congress would consistently raise issues concerning common man. ‘Halla Bol’ agitation on Monday is a part of Congress’ strategy to counter BJP, she added. Accusing BJP-led NDA Government of not keeping its promises, she said that the Government had no concern for common man. Atrocities against women, tribals, and Dalits soared in past few months, she alleged. 

The Government machinery had failed in curbing terrorism and Naxalism, alleged Oza. On drought-like situation in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, Oza said that the BJP-led Government in Maharashtra was least bothered about woes of farmers.

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