Rishabh Pant seeks land from Chief Minister while his mother visit ancestral village to reconstruct ancestral home

Rishabh Pant seeks land from Chief Minister while his mother visit ancestral village to reconstruct ancestral home

B.D.Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, Aug 10

While the midnight tweet by famous Indian cricketer Rishab Pant to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami seeking his help in getting land in his native Uttarakhand was ridiculed on social media, it has been learnt that his mother visited his native place in Pithoragarh district making efforts to repair their ancestral home. The native place of Rishab Pant is Pithoragarh but his family has been living at Roorkee which is in Uttarakhand only. Chief Minister Dhami in his prompt reply has assured him of all possible help. Rishab Pant is presently with Indian Cricket team in Sri Lanka.

Interestingly, residents of Pali Aamdali village in Gangolihat subdivision of Pithoragarh district are elated over the possibility of star Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant visiting his ancestral village, where he spent the first seven years of his childhood.

Rishabh Pant’s mother, Saroj Pant, visited the village on August 8, returning after nearly two decades, and has initiated the construction of their old and dilapidated ancestral house to make it habitable, according to Madan Mohan Pant, one of Rishabh’s uncles who lives in Pali village.

“Rishabh’s mother visited the village after nearly 20 years and stayed for five days. During her stay, she also looked for a contractor to undertake the construction of the house,” villagers said.

According to residents, Rishabh’s grandfather had left the village around six decades ago in search of livelihood and eventually settled in Roorkee. He returned to the village about 20 years ago along with Rishabh, who was around seven years old at the time.

“If the house is constructed, Rishabh is likely to visit the village more frequently. His visits would also inspire the younger generation of the area,” said Vinod Kumar, gram pradhan of Pali Aamdali.

Villagers, however, pointed out that the road connectivity to the village remains a major concern. The nearly 11-km road leading to Pali Aamdali is still largely a kuchcha road and needs to be upgraded to a pucca road, they said.

“The house being constructed is around 1.5 km from the existing road and will also need to be connected by road,” the gram pradhan said.

The villagers said they were particularly happy after meeting Rishabh’s mother and hopeful that the celebrate cricketer would maintain his association with his ancestral village and spend time with the villagers whenever he gets an opportunity.

“His decision to rebuild the ancestral house reflects his attachment to his roots. This is a positive development, particularly for the hill region and Pithoragarh district,” said Lalit Pant, another uncle of Rishabh Pant.