Football great Bir Bahadur in a coma, Indian Army reaches out

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Former Indian footballer Bir Bahadur is struggling to make ends meet and is now in a coma with no financial aid to see his family through. Bir Bahadur was forced to run a chaat and pani puri stall in Hyderabad amidst increasing financial strains in his family.

Centre-forward Bahadur was part of an elite Indian football team which comprised other footballing greats such as Peter Thangaraj, Nayeemuddin, and Yousuf Khan (Hyderabad). Bahadur was part of the football team representing EME Centre, Secunderabad and receives a regular Army pension.

However, the meagre pension amount is not enough for his family of four. Bahadur went through severe financial distress and debt after having his daughter married. In 2005, he had to open a chaat and pani puri stall in Hyderabad to sustain himself. One of his two sons is unemployed while the other one is employed with a local private firm for a paltry salary.

Lt. Gen. T.S.A. Narayanan, Commandant, MCEME handed out a cheque of Rs. 60,000 to the family of Bir Bahadur.

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Bahadur is now bed-ridden and in a coma with hardly any finances to sustain his medicines, treatment, and the day-to-day needs of his family. The COVID-19 nation-wide lockdown has also put serious pressure on the family to get rations for themselves.

However, Indian Army and the Government of Telengana came to his rescue on Thursday. Lt. Gen. T.S.A. Narayanan, Commandant, MCEME, handed out a cheque of Rs.60,000 to his family and promised further medical help to the Indian Army and National team veteran.

After Bir Bahadur's story went viral on Twitter, KT Kama Rao, IT Minister, Government of Telengana, tweeted to confirm that the government is looking into the matter. The Minister has assured to supply immediate rations to his house and also resolve the lack of medical help for Bir Bahadur.

Former Indian captain Victor Amalraj was the first one to have brought to limelight, the news about the crisis in Bir Bahadur's life.