Railways come forward to help ailing Shahid

After receiving flak for not helping Mohammad Shahid in his treatment, the Indian Railways have finally come forward to provide financial assistance to the former India hockey star for the entire specialised treatment here at the private hospital in Gurgaon on Saturday.

Considered the best dribbler of his time, Shahid has been battling serious liver and kidney ailments for last few days. The 56-year-old, winner of the Moscow Olympics gold medal, needs a liver transplant at the earliest. He was left to bear his own expenses for the entire specialised treatment at the Medanta Medicity hospital here as neither the government nor the Indian Railways took note of his deteriorating condition.

However, it was after former hockey captain Dhanraj Pillay wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking help for the 1982 Asian Games silver 1986 Asiad bronze medallist that Indian Railways finally woke up from its slumber on Saturday and released funds to him as per his entitlement as 'Class 1' officer with the Railways.

Not only this, the Railways has also informed the hospital not to charge single penny for Shahid's further treatment as they would be taking care of all his medical expenses from now onwards.

An 'authorisation credit note' has been issued in this regard by the Railways to the hospital management.

Talking about Shahid's health, Saif said that his father is on dialysis and continues to remain critical. "He is in the ICU and doctors are constantly monitoring his health. He needs a liver transplant but that is only possible once the infection is removed from his kidneys. But, the positive part is, he is recognising all his family members and talks to us."