Mohan Yadav Wields Pickaxe to Raze Part of Ancestral Home for Ujjain Road Widening

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Sunday picked up a pickaxe in Ujjain and began breaking down a portion of his own ancestral home, which falls in the path of a road being widened ahead of the Simhastha 2028 congregation.

The house was built by his grandfather Ramchandra Yadav in 1974, and its courtyard and rooms are where the chief minister spent his childhood. About 2.3 metres of the property lies within the proposed road alignment. His sister, Kalawati Yadav, whose house is also affected, has said the family is ready to give up that portion for the city's development.

Speaking after the partial demolition, Yadav said residents of Ujjain had voluntarily moved parts of their houses to clear the way for development work, describing it as an ideal example of public participation. He said the city, home to around eight lakh people, was preparing to host nearly 40 crore visitors during Simhastha.

"Everyone has contributed," he said, adding that he thanked his government for carrying out the exercise without discrimination. "Whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian or Parsi, people have even moved their places of worship back," he said.

The road project covers roughly 730 metres, running from Khajurwali Masjid through Abdalpura and the Jiwajiganj police station area to Ganesh Chowk. The existing road is being widened to 15 metres, with the state government sanctioning about Rs 9.80 crore for the work. The municipal corporation has identified 272 buildings that will be affected.

A government official familiar with the matter said the chief minister decided to demolish a portion of his home to signal that even his own property, or that of any VIP, would not be spared. The gesture, the official said, was symbolic and should help build confidence.

The demolition comes at a sensitive moment in Ujjain, where road widening for Simhastha has already drawn resistance from residents and a legal challenge over the proposed partial removal of the Shahi Masjid.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court earlier this month dismissed two petitions contesting the Ujjain Municipal Corporation's decision to remove a portion of the mosque to widen Gopal Mandir Road to 15 metres. The mosque's management had argued that the action affected part of its prayer hall, a 120-foot minaret and the Mazhar Chowk Shahi, and challenged it on constitutional grounds. The mosque is registered as Waqf property.

Justice Sandeep N Bhatt held that the corporation had followed the required legal process and rejected the argument that the mosque was being singled out because it was a religious structure. The court noted that portions of 10 temples and one mosque had already been removed on the same road, while authorities had taken action involving about 80 religious structures across Ujjain under road-widening plans.

With Simhastha 2028 expected to sharply increase the movement of pilgrims and vehicles, the administration says widening the route will improve traffic flow through this part of the old city and better prepare the network for the anticipated crowds.