Felicitated footballer lives on footpath

The footballer said that she was living in a concrete house till 2010 but her house has been demolished. The Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika forced her family to live in a tiny shanty.

An 18-year-old footballer from Mumbai, who was once felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017, is living a miserable life and is homeless now.

Mary Naidu was 16-yearsold when she was felicitated by the Prime Minister in New Delhi under the Centre’s Mission 11 million programme.

The footballer said that she was living in a concrete house till 2010 but her house has been demolished. The Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika forced her family to live in a tiny shanty.

“After meeting Modiji, everyone said that they would help us. Years have passed, but no one helped us. We needed a house. I have to discontinue my studies as well,” she said.

Mary dreams to represent the country one day in football. She now lives on the footpath with her parents and two younger sisters. Most of her belongings are kept on the footpath inside a temporary shade made by her father. Mary’s father

Prakash Naidu is a temporary BMC clean-up marshal who works on a contractual basis while her mother Babita Naidu is a homemaker.

Mary’s father says their family needs a house and his children should get a good education. Mary’s school had awarded the young footballer with Rs 25,000 after her felicitation in Delhi. She had received financial help from the local corporator and MLA.

Mary hopes to have a permanent house to live and represent the Indian team in football one day.