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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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Pusad Court to Decide If Tree Was Red Sandalwood

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The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has directed that a dispute over the identity of a tree - whether it is Red Sandalwood or Bijasal - be proved before the Junior Division Civil Court at Pusad in Yavatmal district, in a case involving recovery of Rs 50 lakh by the Railway Department.

The matter was heard by Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Raj Wakode. The Railway Department has filed a civil application seeking recovery of Rs 50 lakh paid earlier to farmer Keshav Tukaram Shinde, whose land was acquired for the Wardha–Nanded railway line.

According to the department, the amount was paid on the assumption that a tree on the acquired land was rare Red Sandalwood, valued at nearly Rs 1 crore. However, a report dated May 23, 2025, by the Institute of Wood Science and Technology clarified that the tree is actually Bijasal, a species worth around Rs 10,000.

Following this, the Railways demanded that Shinde’s legal heirs return the excess amount after deducting Rs 10,000. The heirs have been asked to deposit the balance before the High Court.

Advocate Neerja Chaubey, appearing for the Railway Department, argued that the earlier payment was based on a mistaken classification. The Court has now directed that the heirs establish before the Pusad court whether the tree is Red Sandalwood or Bijasal. Shinde has since passed away and the dispute over repayment is now being contested by his legal heirs.


Location: Padmashri Mohammed Rafi Chowk, near Ravi Bhawan, Civil Lines, Nagpur, Maharashtra 440001, India

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