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,...
CONCERNED by the regular breach of rules laid down by the administration to contain the spread of coronavirus in the city, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone II Vinita Sahu cracked a whip against the violators and conducted surprise checking at market places and shops on Tuesday night. Many shops were slapped with fines for not following lockdown guidelines issued by Nagpur Municipal Corporation and State Government. As per the guidelines issued by NMC and State Government for the Unlock phase, all shops should close by 7 pm barring essential services. However, many shop owners are taking the guidelines casually and indulging in running their businesses late in the night. People are also least bothered about the safety measures and visit these shops without following rules of wearing face mask and maintaining social distance. Acting on a tip-off, DCP Sahu launched the operation from Ambazari area and visited market places in Gokulpeth, Ram Nagar, Laxmi Bhuvan square. She al...