Reyaz Ahmed Dar
World’s largest sanitation revolution was started by the Central government of India on 02 Oct 2014. The name given to this mega mission was Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The mission was started with a vision to promote the message of safe sanitation. It soon touched the lives of all Indians. Swachh Bharat has become an integral part of every one’s life. Most important aspect of ensuring hygiene and good health is to solve the problem of sanitation and waste management.
Kashmir is in the fore front of this movement. Advocating the idea of Clean Kashmir, people here feel that the pursuit of Cleanliness can be an economic activity contributing to an increase in tourism, reduction in health care costs and a source of employment. The success of the movement lies in the contribution by each and every individual. Various simple but concrete steps are being taken by the kashmiris like throwing waste in dustbins and not littering. People are encouraged to avoid using plastic covers. Teaching children about cleanliness and sanitation is another most important step as they are the future. School teachers, various government agencies and NGOs have conducted classes and workshops to impart this knowledge to the young generation.
Cleaning Kashmir would also add to the beauty and glamour of the pristine environment of Kashmir. There are many inspirational stories of people dedicating their lives to clean Kashmir and make it a better place for the next generation. One such motivational story is of Bilal Ahmed Dar, a 21 year old ragpicker from Bandipore who has been cleaning the Wular lake – the largest water body in Kashmir that has been choked by polythene and plastic bottles for all these years.
Bilal’s story started in early 2011 when after his father’s death he had to look for work. He found a menial job in Shalimar hotel Srinagar. One day while working there he was confronted by police who told him it is illegal for children to work. He had to return to his home which was on the bank of Wular lake. One evening while he was swimming with his village friends in the lake, an idea struck him, he had to wade through hundreds of plastic bottles dumped there, that is the time he decided that he can clean Wular by collecting these bottles and can also make money by selling the plastic . From that day onwards Bilal every day left his home at six in the morning and returned after spending not less than 12 hours in the lake searching for plastic bottles and polythene bags. In this way he has not only contributed immensely in cleaning the Wular lake but also earned living for his family – mother and two sisters. Since past eight years he has cleaned the Wularlake of thousands of kilograms of plastic trash. His efforts have been recognized by one and all. A documentary- Saving the savior- was made on him by Srinagar based filmaker Jalal Jeelani, which won the Palamdale Vision Award 2017 at the Water Take film festival at Ventura in California. A few months after that Srinagar Muncipal corporation appointed Bilal as their ambassador. Bilal’s efforts were also appreciated by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, who during one of his speeches on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2017 congratulated Bilal for his efforts.
People like Bilal are the key to success for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. He and others like him will help achieve the dream of ‘Clean Kashmir Beautiful Kashmir’. Instead of solely depending on the Government, if we help the government by our small contributions towards cleanliness we will definitely achieve Godliness. The only thing we all need to do is to take “ EK Kadam Swachhataki ore”.