Srinagar’s Swachata ambassador, Bilal Ahmed Dar is unfazed by his new-found fame. In the last one month, his posters have dotted Srinagar’s streets, and the media has not stopped following him ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered him with praises for actively cleaning up Kashmir’s Wular lake.
“Many ridiculed me for picking up plastic and other trash off the Wular, but after I was made the brand ambassador (of Srinagar Municipal Corporation) and managed to support the marriage of my sister with the money earned by selling off Wular’s trash plastic, they now look at me with respect,” Bilal told DNA on the sidelines of the 9th CMS Vatavaran –an international film festival and forum on environment and wildlife.
The 17-year-old from an impoverished family in Bandipora district in Kashmir earned anywhere between Rs 150 to Rs 200 by selling trash collected from the lake.
Having lost his father at an early age, Bilal has been cleaning the lake to support his family since he was 12. He was a special guest at the festival, where the award-winning film on him and Wular “Saving the Saviour” by Srinagar-based filmmaker Jalal Ud Din Baba was screened and bagged two awards.
Offers of a job with a monthly pay of Rs 8,000, school admission have come to Dar. While he can’t take up the job over age issues, Dar aims to attend classes from November 10.
Baba, who has been in touch with the city’s civic body, said Bilal would soon be getting his remuneration.
Baba won three awards for two of his films screened at the festival where 113 films were nominated. About the lake, he said it was once the largest fresh water lake of Asia, but has shrunk over the years. “Wular was always there in my blood. And when I met Bilal and heard his story, I was touched and decided to tell the world about him through my film.”
ReportIndiaAmrita Nayak DuttaDNANew Delhi
· Kashmir
· Narendra Modi
· Asia
· Bandipora
· Swachata Abhiyaan
· Bilal Ahmed Dar
· Jalal Ud Din Baba
Tue, 7 Nov 2017-08:20am
Date updated:
Tuesday, 7 November 2017 - 8:20am
Article Images:
Filmmaker Baba with Bilal Dar at the 9th edition of CMS Vatavaran
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From Print Edition: Reported by DNA 3 days ago.
“Many ridiculed me for picking up plastic and other trash off the Wular, but after I was made the brand ambassador (of Srinagar Municipal Corporation) and managed to support the marriage of my sister with the money earned by selling off Wular’s trash plastic, they now look at me with respect,” Bilal told DNA on the sidelines of the 9th CMS Vatavaran –an international film festival and forum on environment and wildlife.
The 17-year-old from an impoverished family in Bandipora district in Kashmir earned anywhere between Rs 150 to Rs 200 by selling trash collected from the lake.
Having lost his father at an early age, Bilal has been cleaning the lake to support his family since he was 12. He was a special guest at the festival, where the award-winning film on him and Wular “Saving the Saviour” by Srinagar-based filmmaker Jalal Ud Din Baba was screened and bagged two awards.
Offers of a job with a monthly pay of Rs 8,000, school admission have come to Dar. While he can’t take up the job over age issues, Dar aims to attend classes from November 10.
Baba, who has been in touch with the city’s civic body, said Bilal would soon be getting his remuneration.
Baba won three awards for two of his films screened at the festival where 113 films were nominated. About the lake, he said it was once the largest fresh water lake of Asia, but has shrunk over the years. “Wular was always there in my blood. And when I met Bilal and heard his story, I was touched and decided to tell the world about him through my film.”
ReportIndiaAmrita Nayak DuttaDNANew Delhi
· Kashmir
· Narendra Modi
· Asia
· Bandipora
· Swachata Abhiyaan
· Bilal Ahmed Dar
· Jalal Ud Din Baba
Tue, 7 Nov 2017-08:20am
Date updated:
Tuesday, 7 November 2017 - 8:20am
Article Images:
Filmmaker Baba with Bilal Dar at the 9th edition of CMS Vatavaran
Short URL:
dnai.in/f8u8
Embargo:
Syndicate:
Hide lead image:
Page views:
1
From Print Edition: Reported by DNA 3 days ago.
