Columnists

Vivek Deshpande

Associate Editor

Education fellows to mentor, be ‘support system’ for students of 50 tribal residential, ZP schools in Gadchiroli

Wed, Jul 21, 2021

Called 'Educate Gadchiroli Fellowship', the scheme is financially supported by NITI Aayog. The district administration invited applications from young graduates and postgraduates from prominent universities and educational institutions to stay in schools located in remote parts of the Naxal-affected district for a year.

Watched Sherni? The how, why, and some interesting findings of tiger tracking

Wed, Jul 21, 2021

Why do more tigresses than tigers come into conflict with humans? How did a tiger travel for 3,000 km evading human contact? Tiger-tracking has helped answer these questions and more in Maharashtra.

Father of youth caught in UP conversion row says ‘shocked’ by son’s arrest

Sun, Jul 18, 2021

Mankar, who is an assistant sub-inspector with the Gadchiroli Police at Aheri, was informed about his son's arrest by one of his friends. He said he found it difficult to believe that his son had converted to Islam.

Chandrapur: 62-year-old man killed in tiger attack, third such death in district this month

Sun, Jul 18, 2021

This was the third human death due to tiger attack in Chandrapur district this month. One death was caused by leopard attack earlier this week.

Sharp rise in fatal tiger attacks in Vidarbha

Thu, Jul 15, 2021

Three deaths in tiger attacks in July so far have taken this year's toll of tiger attack deaths to 25 in Vidarbha. Last year, it was 31. With more than five months left in this year, 2021 might turn out to be the worst year as far as tiger attacks are concerned.

Young tiger captured in Yavatmal after fatal attack on man

Tue, Jul 13, 2021

The tiger, which is about 22 months' old killed a man on the intervening night of July 9 and 10.

After seven years in foster care of Hindu family, 19-year-old youth returns to Muslim parents

Tue, Jul 13, 2021

Then an eight-year-old, he could not help police trace his origins, so he was handed over to a government childcare home in the city.

Nagpur’s Pardi area tense after differently-abled man who was ‘beaten up by cops’ dies

Fri, Jul 09, 2021

The man, Manoj Thavkar, 35, was allegedly beaten up by police after he sped past a checkpoint in Pardi area around 6 pm on Wednesday, reportedly injuring a policeman in the process.

Nagpur’s Pardi area tense after physically-challenged man who was ‘beaten up by cops’ dies

Fri, Jul 09, 2021

The man, Manoj Thavkar, 35, was allegedly beaten up by police after he sped past a nakabandi in Pardi area around 6 pm on Wednesday, reportedly injuring a policeman in the process.

Film, dialogue win over wary tribals in Naxal heartland, lead to successful vaccination drive

Tue, Jul 06, 2021

A month-and-a-half ago, such a scene would have been a far cry in this Naxal-dominated hilly terrain.

Bombay HC sets aside lower court verdict denying adoption plea by relatives of girl child

Sat, Jul 03, 2021

The High Court’s ruling on June 30 came after a revision application by two couples, biological parents of a girl child and the prospective adoptive parents, challenging the verdict by a district judge who had rejected their plea to allow the adoption.

Trudging along a road, rare big turtle spotted in town near Nagpur

Thu, Jul 01, 2021

Weighing over 22 kg, the female turtle was about 83 cm long and 51 cm wide. It was spotted by local journalist Gajanan Dhakulkar around midnight on Tuesday.

Petrochemical complex in Vidarbha? Union minister Pradhan orders techno-economic feasibility study

Wed, Jun 30, 2021

Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted about the issue after a meeting with former CM Devendra Fadnavis, who had led a delegation of Vidarbha Economic Development Council, a forum comprising prominent Vidarbha industrial leaders, to meet Pradhan at New Delhi on Tuesday

How vaccination helped bring down number of Covid cases and deaths in Maharashtra police

Thu, Jun 24, 2021

According to Additional Director General of Police (Administration) Sanjeev Kumar Singhal, over 90 per cent of about 2 lakh police personnel in the state have had their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while 70 per cent personnel have taken both the doses.

In Chandrapur hotbed, forest officials bring down tiger threat

Thu, Jun 17, 2021

Chandrapur accounts for as many as 200 of Maharashtra’s 311 tigers, and hence much of its man vs animal conflict. Central Chanda is estimated to hold 25 adult tigers.

Maoist pamphlet exhorts Marathas to brace revolution for justice

Sat, Jun 12, 2021

Maharashtra State Committee of CPI(Maoist) secretary Sahyadri has stated that reservation hasn’t brought equality and justice to the socially backward communities for whom it was originally designed and hence may not benefit even the Marathas.

In Nagpur, Sarma scotches talk of not being favoured by RSS

Sat, Jun 12, 2021

Sarma was closeted with Bhagwat at the RSS headquarters in city's Mahal area for about 75 minutes. He, however, refused to divulge details of the meeting

In level 1, Nagpur to reopen with some restrictions, shops allowed till 5 pm

Mon, Jun 07, 2021

The authorities made it clear that Covid-appropriate behaviour will have to be strictly followed and any violation will be punishable under the provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Study maps Vidarbha tiger corridors; movement far beyond guarded areas

Sun, Jun 06, 2021

Vidarbha has 331 tigers in a forest area of around 26,775 sq km, dissected by 84,202 km of roads, apart from irrigation canals and other projects. There have been growing instances of man-tiger conflict in the region.

World Environment Day: Activists to protest against proposed tree felling by transportation plan

Sat, Jun 05, 2021

The Rs 1,260-crore project, a brainchild of Union Transport Minister and Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari, is being executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Nagpur records single-digit death tally for first time since March 15

Thu, Jun 03, 2021

There were eight Covid-19 deaths in the district on Thurday with Nagpur city recording only two deaths. Two deaths were from rural areas while four were patients who had come to the city for treatment from outside the district.

Maharashtra: Gilt scam case draws to a close, appointment of public prosecutor holding Cong post at last stage raises speculation

Wed, Jun 02, 2021

Asif Qureshi, chairperson of the legal and human rights cell of the Congress and son of former Congress MLA Shaukat Qureshi, was recently appointed the new public prosecutor in the Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank (NDCCB) gilt (government securities) scam case.