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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,...

NCC to enroll 25 lakh cadets, says Air Marshal Ajit Bhonsle

Air Marshal Ajit Bhonsle, Deputy Chief IDS (DOT)
 and Major General R K Sharma, Commandant, NCC
OTA, Kamptee, making a point during interaction
with newspersons on Saturday.
By Dheeraj Fartode
National Cadet Corps (NCC) has set its eyes on a long-term plan to increase enrolment of cadets from current 11 lakh to 25 lakh to shape the youths of the country into good citizens.

“Currently, NCC has around 11 lakh cadets enrolled across the country. The administration has decided to get enrolled more than two-and-a-half lakh cadets in next year’s plan,” said Air Marshal Ajit Bhonsle, Deputy Chief Integrated Defence Staff (DOT); and Major General R K Sharma, Commandant, NCC Officers’ Training Academy (OTA), Kamptee, on Saturday. 

Interacting with newspersons after the passing out parade of Associate NCC Officers at the OTA, the Air Marshal said, disciplined society is the need of every developing country and NCC is building that through imparting character, courage, discipline, leadership among youths. “NCC is motivating youths for selfless service and making them useful citizens of the country. Unity and discipline form the motto of NCC, and the force is imbibing qualities of patriotism and national fervour among the cadets,” he said. 

Relating Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) with NCC, the Air Marshal said that IDS was a combination of three services -- the Army, Air Force, and the Navy. “NCC is built on the same lines,” he observed. 
Praising the OTA at Kamptee, Air Marshal Bhonsle said, training is the most important factor in the corps and the OTA is imparting quality training to trainers. If a trainer is trained well, he/she will train the cadets better. “NCC officers are working hard across the country to build disciplined youth and future of the country. The corps is motivating the youths to join Armed Forces,” he added. Brigadier S B Singh and Wg Cdr Samir Gangakhedkar also were present during the interaction. 

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