VARANASI: The family of late hockey legend and Padma Shri awardee Mohammed Shahid has protested the demolition of his ancestral house in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in the name of a road-widening drive ordered by the BJP-led administration.
Bulldozers rolled into the locality along the Kachery-Sandaha route, tearing down part of the residence where Shahid’s relatives continue to live. His sister-in-law, Nazneen, said the family had not received any compensation and had no alternative place to go. “We have nowhere else to live with our family,” she told reporters.
Shahid’s cousin, Mushtaq, said the demolition came at a time when the family was preparing for a wedding scheduled in October. He alleged that while road widening elsewhere was limited to 21 metres, in their locality it was extended to 25 metres, disproportionately affecting them. “If this continues, we will be forced onto the streets,” he added.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai condemned the move, saying, “The BJP government has demolished the house of Padma Shri Mohammed Shahid. This was not just a house, but a symbol of the nation’s sporting legacy. The people will not forgive this insult to a respected figure.”
Mohammed Shahid, who died in 2016, was among India’s most celebrated hockey players, remembered for his dazzling stick-work and as a key member of the team that won gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
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