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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,...

Give rent to farmers, Bawankule to VIDC

The Project Affected People (PAPs) of Gosekhurd, whose land have taken by the government but acquisition not fully completed, have been rehabilitated within periphery of 25 km. Guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule ordered Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) to give rent of the acquired land to these farmers.

A meeting was held on Wednesday in which MLAs Bachhu Kadu, Ramchand Awsare, District Collector Ashwin Mudgal were present.  In this project, 1204 hectares of land in Nagpur district and 884 hectares of land in Bhandara district have been proposed for land acquisition and a proposal has been sent to the government. 

Once the water of Gosekhurd reaches level 244, the administration would understand the problems that would be faced by the villagers and PAPs. Similarly, a proposal for voluntary rehabilitation of 23 and 14 villages is underway. The compensation will be paid only to the PAPs who have gone to court in accordance with section 18 (A) of the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. Other project victims will have to go to court for increased compensation. The Guardian Minister Bawanakule directed to implement this scheme for all the PAPs. Those who have entreated upon government land will be given a plot of 1,000 sq ft and Rs 2.90 lakh. 

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