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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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Coronavirus scare: State Police suspend use of breathanalyser tests

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TOP cop of Maharashtra Highway Police has ordered suspension of the use of breathanalyser tests to check drunken driving across the state. The decisions has been taken in view of the coronavirus outbreak in the State.
Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Maharashtra Highway Police, Vinay Korgaonkar, on Monday issued a circular addressing all police units in the State. “Outbreak of coronavirus has been reported in the State. To contain the spread of the virus, the police personnel need to take precautionary measures accordingly. Hence, policemen in traffic police of all police units should not conduct breathanalyser tests for alcohol consumption by motorists,” stated ADG Korgaonkar in the circular issued.
While talking to ‘The Hitavada’, ADG Korgaonkar informed that the decision was taken to prevent further spread of ongoing N CoVid-19 (corona) infection. “As the government is taking enormous precautions to contain spread of the virus, the police personnel are vulnerable to get infected by the virus as they put breathanalyser in the mouth of drunk drivers,” he said and added that the test would be resumed after the situation becomes normal.
A total of 39 positive cases of coronavirus have been detected so far in Maharashtra.
Director General of Police (DGP) Subodh Jaiswal on Saturday issued an order to Nagpur, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune police commissionerates to strictly implement the orders of State Government regarding closure of cinema halls, gyms and swimming pools till March 31.
Earlier, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray made an announcement of undertaking drastic measures in an attempt to keep the novel coronavirus threat at bay. The CM had invoked the government Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 from midnight in order to allow it to implement these emergency measures. Thackeray also urged companies to allow their staff to work from home. The police are also taking measures by wearing masks while on-duty.
In Maharashtra, more than 13,000 people were killed in 35,957 road accidents in 2018, up from the 12,511 deaths in 36,056 mishaps in 2017, according to the data from the Maharashtra highway traffic police.

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