ROURKELA: ODISHA international, Jyoti Chhetri, is facing a fight to save her house from a road-widening project. As part of a newly commissioned flyover next to the Chhend locality in Rourkela, the narrow lane her house sits in on the confluence of three Rivers -- opposite the main sports hostel in Panposh -- is set to be widened in the next year or so.
Keeping this in mind, local government authorities had gone to her house a few years ago to inform them about the project. To date, the government hasn't promised them alternate accommodation.
Bhim Singh, Jyoti's father who had worked as a watchman at the hostel before becoming a mason, picks up the story. "They (the government) told us verbally," he says after taking part in a puja in a Shiva temple in the same street on Sunday. "Some 8-10 people came to our house to take measurements and informed us that they will demolish the house. They were people from the government and came around two years ago. They told us that demolition will be done by 2025-26.
“They are constructing a flyover which will go above the railway line," he says. "As a part of the project, they want to widen the road and because of that, our house as well as others around will be demolished. The house will be gone, we will have to find some other place to stay. Let's see if the government compensates us in any way. We haven't seen any other place to shift yet. It's a conundrum, if suddenly someone says your house will be demolished. What will you do? I have spent my life here with my entire family. It's painful."
A bit of background.
Chhetri, part of the senior women's hockey team that featured in the Pro League over the last two weeks in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, was born inside the hostel in Rourkela in 2003.
Before long, as the family's small living quarters inside had become cramped, they moved out. On the advice of hostel authorities, they resettled in an empty space right opposite the hostel.
Bhim worked on it to make it liveable for the family of five, including his only daughter and two of her siblings. Now, that almost two-decade blood and toil of the family is facing grave danger.
Jyoti, who was part of the Indian team that had won silver in the inaugural edition of the Hockey 5s World Cup in January, had even met the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of the area to make her case. "I had spoken to the ADM," she said after India's Pro League win over the US via a shoot-out late on Sunday night. "They assured me they will do something but nothing has happened till now. I do not know what it is but I did whatever I could to seek some support. I met them six or seven months ago." While they have submitted official documents to the government — they (government) asked us for our Aadhar cards and other documents but there has been no response yet — the family do not have a document on them that proves they own the land.
Jyoti, who broke through to the senior national team after several eye-catching performances at various age-group events (she is a Junior Asia Cup winner), thinks that only hockey can solve her problems. "If I do well in hockey and continue playing in the future, then I may get some financial support or win prize money. With that, I can support my family. I am working very hard for it and I know that I will be able to resolve the problem only through hockey. Many players live their dreams. But I play for my family's dreams." Only after Jyoti started progressing through the ranks was her family even able to paint the exteriors (some parts of it are still bricks and mortar).
Bhim is mindful of the extra pressure his daughter faces but he doesn't want her to feel it. “Jyoti was born inside the hostel," Bhim, who had originally come to Rourkela in the late 1980s, says. “We are worried about what will happen but have told Jyoti to play without pressure, without thinking about any of this. We hope she will progress. About the house, what can I say?” Considering they don't have the resources to resettle elsewhere, they are facing the prospect of an uncertain future if the government doesn't give them alternate accommodation. Bhim and Seema (her mother), who have decorated the walls of the house with Jyoti's medals, photos and lanyards of the different international events she has competed in, are prepared to move into an 'alternate accommodation'. "Why should we fight the government," he asks. "If the place is to be vacated, it will be done. If the government helps us with alternate accommodation, we will settle there." Seema, though, has already given up hope. "Jyoti went to the ADM for help," she says. "But they said it was not in their hands and asked her to visit the collector's office. We know we won't be able to save the house because we can't say anything to the government."
For his part, Bhim has already turned towards God for salvation. "We will see what happens, we are at God's mercy. Wherever he takes us.”