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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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Fact finding committee to probe rehabilitation of Takli-Dolhari project in Yavatmal district

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The State government constituted a fact finding committee to probe rehabilitation of Takli-Dolhari irrigation project in Yavatmal district. Minister for rehabilitation Shambhuraje Desai announced in the Upper House that the committee would submit the report for review. 

Desai was replying to the Calling Attention Motion moved by Congress legislators Adv Abhijeet Wanjari, Bhai Jagtap and Dr Sudhir Tambe. 

MLC Wanjari levelled serious allegations about the rehabilitation process. “Some buissinement from Raipur in Chhattisgarh have purchased agricultural land for Rs 4 lakh per acre after the notification about the project was issued by the government. Now these bussinement are getting Rs 65 per acre as compensation,” Wanjari informed the house. 

He further alleged that the Gram Sabha’s resolution was bogus as it was motivated by some government officials. The villagers are demanding to cancel the entire process of rehabilitation. The Chief Execution Officer (CEO) of Yavatmal submitted a report with the government in which he stated that the Gram Sabha meeting was bogus. He demanded to cancel the entire process of rehabilitation. 

In a reply, Minister Desai said that it would be difficult to cancel the entire process of rehabilitation due to cost escalation. A Public Interest Litigation was also filed in the court in this regard. But the court has not yet issued any instructions in this regard, he said. 

When Wanjari drew attention towards the villagers are against the new place of rehabilitation, Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe asked Minister Desai to inspect the process and keep the process on hold temporarily. 

Desai then told the house that a three-member committee of concerned District Collector, CEO and District Rehabilitation Officer would be constituted. The committee will visit the affected village and speak to the villagers. The detailed report will be submitted to the ministry within two months. 


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