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,...
Thunderstorm in Nagpur City plunged into darkness after powerful thunderstorm accompanied by winds gusting at over 50 kmph lashed city on Sunday. Power outages were reported in almost 80 per cent area of Nagpur power lines were snapped at more than 30 spots. Teams of Spanco Nagpur Discom Ltd (SNDL) and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) had started restoration work but electric supply was not restored to many areas as damage was severe. As per the reports, key area like Wardhaman Nagar, Gandhibag, Mahal, Pardi, Dighori, Sakkardara, Vishwakarma Nagar, Medical Square, Hudkeshwar, Sonegaon, Pratap Nagar, Ambazari, Bharat Nagar, Hindustan colony, Ramdaspeth, Dhantoli, North Ambazari Road, Dharampeth, Civil Lines, Sitabuldi, Jaripatka, Shanti Nagar and some parts of Sadar plunged into darkness for more than two hours. Power supply was closed in many areas as precautionary measures after the thunderstorm lashed the city at around 6 pm. Afte...