Thirteen houses were demolished in Varanasi on Sunday, including the ancestral home of hockey legend and Padma Shri awardee Mohammad Shahid. The demolition was carried out at the Court Road intersection as part of the Court Road to Sandha widening project.
Officials said compensation had been provided to all affected families, but despite repeated notices and a final ultimatum, the residents did not vacate the portions of their homes that fell within the project area.
City ADM Alok Verma said, “We gave an ultimatum last week. The families were told to remove the earmarked parts of their houses themselves, otherwise the administration would step in. Since no action was taken, we had to proceed with the demolition.”
Among the structures taken down was Shahid’s residence, built in the 1920s, which had become a local landmark and a source of inspiration for young hockey players. Shahid, who was part of India’s gold medal-winning team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1986. He passed away in 2016.
According to officials, out of the nine family members of Shahid, seven accepted the compensation offered by the administration, while two continue to stay in the house and have yet to decide on whether to accept it.
Family members expressed sorrow over losing their ancestral home. “Our memories are there in this home. This is our home. We will miss this place. The administration has given us compensation; seven shareholders took it, but we have no place else to go, so two shareholders still stay here,” said Nazneen, a relative of Shahid.
This story was originally published in theobserverpost.com.
