Bulldozed dreams: Losses too big for Prayagraj victims to get over despite Supreme Court relief

Prayagraj: While the Supreme Court's recent ruling, deeming the 2021 demolitions in Prayagraj "inhuman and illegal," has brought relief to those affected, the emotional and material losses remain profound, particularly for those whose homes were razed under suspicion of ties to mafia figure Atiq Ahmed.

The Supreme Court recently ordered the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) to pay Rs 10 lakh in compensation to each of the five petitioners in the matter.

However, for some, the damage extends beyond monetary value.

Ali Ahmed Fatmi, a retired Allahabad University Urdu department professor, lost his home and a valuable collection of rare books.

"On the evening of March 6, 2021, the PDA gave a notice and came to demolish the house on March 7. We could not even remove our belongings. I had a big library in which there were thousands of books which were very rare. We could not even protect those books," Fatmi said.

He detailed the irreplaceable loss of his library and the subsequent emotional toll, including the death of his wife and his own heart condition.

"The house is gone, so are our books. In September of that year, my wife also passed away. She could not bear the shock and later I was also diagnosed with heart disease," he said.

Fatmi, who now lives with his daughter in a flat he had purchased, said he now hopes the court's order would include the return of his land.

Vijay Kumar Singh, another victim, recalled how the house that he had bought with hard earned money was razed within a matter of hours.

"I had bought the house just nine months ago but it was razed within hours. I was forced to live in a rented house. I had spent all my earnings buying that house," he said.

Singh, who lives with his family, still harbours fond memories of the house. "I feel very uncomfortable passing by there. Whenever I pass by there, old memories are refreshed." A very emotional Waqf Ansari said, "The demolition of that house was like the destruction of our dream home. We had bought that house by saving money for years and it was demolished in a single day. We are not rich enough to buy another house. That is why we live in a rented house."