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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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GMCH to be turned into COVID-19 hospital

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TO DEAL with the Coronavirus pandemic in the State, the district administration has decided to turn the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) into specialised hospital for COVID-19 infected patients. Patients in all wards at the biggest hospital in Vidarbha would be shifted to IGGMCH (Mayo) and other hospitals to avail 1,500 beds for Coronavirus patients.
Guardian Minister Dr. Nitin Raut informed ‘The Hitavada’ that a meeting was held with senior doctors of GMCH on Monday at the office Divisional Commissioner. “As we are fighting a biological war against outbreak of Coronavirus, this is an important step to provide facilities to patients,” he said. The health authorities have been instructed to create 100-bedded Intensive Care Unit (ICU) unit that would provide emergency services to the patients.
Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar told ‘The Hitavada’ that a total of 1500 beds of GMCH would be acquired for treatment of COVID-19 patients. At first phase, 100 beds would be acquired and later the capacity would be increased as per the need, he said.
Sources said the administration is gearing up to deal with possible community outbreak of Coronavirus in the city and region. As Nagpur is the only big city in Vidarbha region with all medical facilities, the administration is expecting that patients from other district would also come here for treatment. In such case, there would be no alternative other than GMC&H.
“As 1500 beds also would not cater the situation in case of community outbreak of Coronavirus, Dr Raut also conducted a meeting of private hospitals and asked them to be ready for support in emergency,” informed sources.
The Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH) is 822-bedded hospital. The GMCH was established in 1947 and has a 1400-bed capacity. GMCH Dean Dr. Sajal Mitra and other doctors were present in the meeting.

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