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,...
By Dheeraj Fartode Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) is yet to clear the dues for availing police bandobast for the security during T-20 and Test Cricket matches held during last few years. The figure of outstanding dues is whopping Rs 3.19 crores and remainders of district police force failed to entice any response from VCA officials. According to information, Nagpur Rural Police provided security to IPL T-20 matches in the year 2010. The Rural Police had sent bill of Rs 2,30,33,821 to VCA the same year. However, VCA did not pay the amount. In the Test Match held in year 2015 too Rural Police provided bandobast and a bill for Rs 89,36,664 was dispatched to VCA. This bill is also outstanding. With such outstanding dues, the Nagpur Rural Police are contemplating whether to provide security in upcoming T-20 matches in March 2016. Sources informed that the Rural Police is required to deploy manpower of 900 policemen including Dog squads and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDD...