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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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Thousands of policemen to be deprived of voting

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19-10-19
THOUSANDS of police personnel would not be able to vote in the Assembly elections as they failed to file form no. 12 mandatory for casting postal ballot, thanks to senior police officers in Nagpur Police who failed to convey the last date of filing to the constabulary staff.
More than 5,000 policemen would be deployed for election duties at polling booths and management of sensitive areas, a top rank officer said. However, only a few have managed to file the Form No. 12, it has been learnt.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Welfare, Vinay Marathe informed ‘The Hitavada’ that as many as 1,558 police personnel have filed form required for casting postal ballot. “A police officer at every police station was designated as nodal officer and forms were given to him on October 10. His duty was to distribute the forms to police personnel at police station and submit it on October 16 for further action,” he said.
“We have received 1,558 forms. Remaining constabulary force can caste their vote at election booths as all are living in the city,” the ACP said. Whether it would be possible during the bandobast is everybody’s guess.
Expert on the issue stated that as just 1,558 (31.16 per cent) policemen out of 5,000 strong force have filed the forms, remaining 3.442 (68.84 per cent) would not be able to vote. “Election duty is one of the most sensitive duties for government employees. If one is not found at the duty spot, one faces brunt from senior rank officials,” he said adding that no policeman could dare to go out while on-duty.
Sources informed that this happened due to lack of coordination on part of police station-level officers and nodal officers.

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