Meet Bilal Dar, the savior of Wular Lake. For us Indians, rivers hold a significant position in life as we treat the Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, the Brahmaputra as our mothers. We worship Shipra, Narmada, Pushkar and regard Dal and Wular as our pride. But our treatment for these rivers is in complete contrast. People in our society consider these rivers as large dustbins where they can throw garbage, discharge sewage, take baths and wash clothes. A worrisome fact is, most of the garbage includes non-biodegradable garbage, i.e., Plastic.
Citizens and the government do very little to clean them. But this boy named Bilal Dar tried to clean both these Dal and Wular lakes single-handedly.
He has been doing this work from the age of 7, from the time he lost his father and became the sole earning member of his family—Hatkestory connected with Bilal Dar over a telephonic interview. So let’s hear his story!
Bilal Dar – His Story
I’m Bilal Dar. I belong to Srinagar. Since my childhood, I have been working with my father as a garbage collector. Together, we used to clean the Wular lake because that was close to my town. We would take the garbage out from the lake to sell it to the kabaddi man.
Then at the age of 7, my father died due to cancer. Wular lake had so much waste in it and that it had generated cancer-causing bacteria in his leg. We tried our best to save him, but we couldn’t. After his death, my family’s responsibility fell on my shoulder, and I had to take care of my two sisters and mother.
I was 8 when I left school to work to raise my family. I only knew whatever Abbu had taught me about rag picking. Before starting the work, I had one thought in my mind that was “I want to clean this Wular lake. It has killed my father, and I wouldn’t let it kill someone else.”
Every day at 6 AM, I would set my foot out to collect garbage from the river. I’d come back after selling 10-15 kg garbage for 100-200 rupees per day. I want to list that we locals use this water for drinking and other activities as well. You should know that it can cause cancer. Yes, it’s that dangerous. It’s not only happening in Wular but with other lakes and rivers as well.
Coming back to the story, I continued this work consecutively for seven years, picking garbage from hand as I didn’t even have money to buy the net. Once a kabaddi man told me, “Bilal Do you know you’ve brought me 12,000 kg plastic in these seven years?” I was shocked after knowing the truth. I didn’t know what happened inside me and why I decided to involve others, but I thought maybe I could bring a little change.
After that, I went to my friends and motivating others to contribute. Together, we cleaned it more, and the impact was so immense that we could see patches of clear water in years. It was similar to what happened with Ganga and other rivers during the lockdown. Everyone appreciated my efforts and praised me.
Things changed in 2017 when a documentary made on my work went viral on the internet. PM Narendra Modi spoke about me in one of his sessions of Mann Ki Baat. He told his government to give me a house and a job. The Srinagar Municipal Corporation made me the ambassador of cleanliness and gave Rs 10,000 per 1.5 months to spread awareness.
With my savings, I got my sister married. People around me applauded my dedication and achievements. I shifted to Srinagar to work in Municipal Corporation though I didn’t know it was anything but a bunch of lies. It has been four years, I have never received a house from them, and they took my car away as well. My mother and sister live in the same old, broken house.
Whatever I do to clean Wular and Dal lake is from my expenses. I go to people to spread the word and to tell them not to throw garbage in rivers. They are not even paying me for working in the Municipal Corporation. Currently, I’m staying in a rented room in Srinagar, but I have to pay the rent to stay in that room.
I requested financial support and a team from the government to get my hands on this goal. But they provide zero facilities and sometimes tell me to do the regular chores in offices like cleaning and file management. The government hardly supports me. Still, I aim to continue cleaning these lakes.
I’ve dedicated my entire life working for these lakes, and I’d still do it because people around me use this water. You can’t even imagine what happened to my father. I don’t want any other kid to suffer as Bilal Dar did.
In the end, I urge everyone not to throw anything in the water. Together, we need to save these rivers as our lives depend on them. By throwing plastic in them, we are not killing water but ourselves. So, please! I request you avoid doing it at any cost. Save these rivers. Keep them clean. They belong to us only.
Hatkestory sincerely appeals to everyone to act as Bilal said. Would you please save our rivers and avoid dumping garbage in them?
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