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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,...

Aerial lift of MahaMetro collapsed at Agrasen square

The boom of the work platform of MahaMetro suddenly collapsed and the lift basket crashed to the ground near Agrasen square on Central Avenue on Saturday night. However, no one was injured in the accident, claimed MahaMetro’s PRO, Akhilesh Halwe.
According to Halwe, the aerial lift was stationed near the square for painting Metro’s tracks. The machine suddenly disbalanced and the boom of the work platform collapsed crashing into the structures of roadside shops. The shops were badly destroyed in the accident. Halwe said that a crane was sent to settle the aerial lift which is also known as Manlifter. The lift operator and the painter had gone for dinner when the accident occured, he claimed.
Traffic passing through Central Avenue was badly affected after the accident. A large number of onlookers gathered to the spot after the news of the accident spread in the area. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone III Lohit Matani said that a police team was sent to Mayo Hospital to find whether anyone was injured in the accident. An offence will be registered after conducting inquiry into the matter, he said.


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