Shams ul Haq
In 2017, Bilal Ahmed Dar (then 16) was all over the news for his persistent efforts in the cleaning of Wullar- Asia’s biggest freshwater lake. Bilal also found praise in PM Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat programme.
A documentary titled ‘ Saving the Saviour’ that won several awards also featured Bilal and the commendable work he had done for the prevention of the Wular lake.
Shortly after Narendra Modi called him “inspiring”, the SMC other than appointing Bilal as the brand ambassador for the cleanliness drive also dedicated a salary of Rs 8000 a month.
“I was doing well out there in Bandipora and feeding my family. I hail from a poor family and my father died of cancer in 2003. The SMC called me shortly after PM Modi called me. After tagging me as the brand ambassador of SMC they promised me a monthly salary of 8000, which was also stopped after a short while,” Bilal said.
Bilal says that the officials made false promises to him and they all should be held accountable for the same. “I just do not know who to complain to,” he told The Kashmiriyat. Angered Bilal says that he was merely taking care of his unwell mother from the Rs. 8000 salary, SMC used to pay him, “unfortunately that too has been stopped.”
Appealing the higher officials to intervene into the matter, Bilal said that such promises made by the Government officials should not prove to be hoax. “This will remove the faith of people from credible institutes,” he said.