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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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Gadchiroli cops await first visit of ‘pro-constabulary’ DGP Pandey

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DGP Sanjay Pandey

SINCE taking charge as Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra, Sanjay Pandey has earned praise for his pro-constabulary approach. The top cop is always ready to redress issues faced by constables thus building a good morale in the force. While most of the police force has seen the DGP’s proactive way, the Jawans of Maharashtra Police in Naxal-hit Gadchiroli district are also awaiting first visit of DGP Pandey soon.
It may be mentioned that Gadchiroli Police killed 22 Naxals and destroyed a Naxal weapons manufacturing unit in three operations this year. A visit by the DGP is set to invigorate them further, it is being felt in the force.
DGP Pandey took the reins of Maharashtra Police on April 10 this year. State Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil took charge of the Home Department on April 5. After assuming charge Walse-Patil visited Gadchiroli on May 21 to take stock of the situation and meet police personnel deployed in the Naxal-affected district. For some reasons, DGP Pandey could not accompany the State Home Minister on this tour. Now, the cops fighting the Naxals tooth and nail are confident of meeting the pro-constable DGP in the immediate future.
The Gadchiroli Police have the largest force of 6,500 Jawans to combat Naxals. State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are also deployed in the region to carry out anti-Naxal operations. The State is trying hard to maintain an upper hand on Naxals since the Maoist movement started in Gadchiroli in 1988.
A top official, who served in Gadchiroli, said this is the critical district in the State where issues and problems of the force are different from any other district. It is a general practice that whenever a new officer takes charge as DGP, he visits Gadchiroli to understand the ground situation. Ex-DGPs Sanjeev Dayal, Pravin Dixit, Satish Mathur, Subodh Jaiswal, Hemant Nagrale maintained the decade-old practice to boost morale of the force.
The then DGP Pravin Dixit had visited Gadchiroli district on the very first day after taking reins of Maharashtra Police in 2015. He came to Nagpur by train and stayed in Gadchiroli for four days. After intensive interaction with widows of policemen and serving Jawans, he approached the then CM Devendra Fadnavis with a detailed report and sorted out their problems.
“These officials were interested in getting first hand reports instead of depending on written reports received from various agencies,” the official said.
Another official said that State Police have gained an upper hand against the Naxals after a three-decade long fierce battle. When a top ranked officer visits the field, he not only gets first hand information but also understands the problems of Jawans and prevailing situations. “One to one briefing would help the DGP to understand the problems well which would help in sorting them out with immediate effect,” the official added.

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