Residents of Unnuwaas in the district are unhappy with the alleged neglect towards preserving the memories of Shivpujan Sahay by the administration.

An associate and editor of Munshi Premchand, Sahay is remembered by the villagers only through a statue they constructed a few years ago. But even the statue of the man of letters is in a bad shape. Villagers claim that no official bothers to visit his native village even on his birth anniversary, August 9.

Baijanath Prasad, a villager, told The Telegraph: “No official ever comes here to remember Sahayji. But we do not forget to garland his statue.”

The well-known journalist was born in the village, around 145km west of Patna, in 1893. He worked in Ara as a Hindi teacher from 1903 to 1921 before going to Calcutta to serve as the editor of Hindi magazine Matwala in 1923. The next year, he moved to Lucknow to work for another magazine, Madhuri. There, Sahay worked with Premchand on his famous novel Rangbhumi and his short stories.

Shashi Bhushan Srivastava, a retired railway officer who lives in the village, said: “Sahayji worked in a number of Hindi magazines like Aadarsh, Matwala, Samanway, Jagran, Ganga and Himalay which were very famous at that time. He was also the editor of famous Hindi writers like Munshi Premchand and President Rajendra Prasad.”

He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1960 for his contribution to literature and also received a DLitt from Bhagalpur University.

Sahay’s son Mangalmurti told The Telegraph over phone from Lucknow: “I have written several times to the district administration about the neglect towards preserving the memories of Sahayji. His statue set up by the villagers needs repairs but we have got no help from the authorities.”

The retired English professor from the College of Commerce, Patna, added: “There is, however, a revival of interest in my father’s life and works. A local trust was established in his name recently in Buxar. They have decided to revive Sahayji’s heritage.”

A member of the trust, Shivpujan Sahay Smriti Sansthan, Pankaj Bharadwaj, said: “We shall never forget Sahayji. His contribution to Hindi literature was extraordinary. From last year, we have started to organise a programme in his memory in Buxar.”

District magistrate Vinod Singh Gunjial could not be contacted.