RAGPICKER HAPPY MODI TOOK NOTE OF HIS HUMBLE EFFORTS

SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated the efforts of Bilal Dar – an 18-year-old ragpicker who earned his living by picking waste from Wular Lake in Bandipora district of north Kashmir and was appointed brand ambassador of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) in July.

“I am very happy. I want to thank Modiji for taking note of my humble efforts. All my life I want to continue working for cleanliness and make common people aware as to why cleanliness is so important,” Dar told HT over phone on Sunday evening.

HT had reported on the life and work of the teenager in July, when he was appointed the SMC’S brand ambassador. For almost five years now, Dar, a resident of Laharwarpora, has been removing plastic trash from the lake and selling it for ₹150-200 per day, which supports his mother Mughali and two sisters.

Dar’s father Mohammad Ramzan Dar, also a ragpicker, had died of cancer in 2003. Since then, Dar made his livelihood a means to clean up the Wular — one of Asia’s largest fresh water lakes. Reports estimate that Dar has collected over 12,000kg trash annually.

“Bilal Dar got connected to the cleanliness campaign at the age of 12-13 years and has been working for the past 5 to 6 years,” Modi said.

Dr Shafqat Khan, SMC commissioner, said he was really thankful to the PM for mentioning Dar.

“The boy’s commitment to the cause of cleanliness and his own vision to clean the Wular Lake is simply heroic. He is an inspiration,” Dr Khan said.