Modi congratulates ragpicker Bilal, SMC for choosing him civic ambassador

Srinagar: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Bilal Ahmad Dar, an 18-year-old ragpicker who earns his living by picking up waste from the Wular Lake in Bandipora district of north Kashmir and has been appointed brand ambassador of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC).

In Mann Ki Baat, Modi also also congratulated SMC for making him the brand ambassador.

“When it comes to brand ambassador, you may think that he might be a cine-artist, maybe he would be the hero of the game. I congratulate the Srinagar Municipal Corporation for this initiative for hygiene and for imagination for the Ambassador, because Srinagar is a tourist destination and every citizen of India wishes to go to Srinagar. It is a very big thing in itself,” Modi said

For almost five years now, Bilal Ahmad Dar, a resident of Laharwarpora of Bandipora district, has been removing plastic trash from the lake and selling it for around Rs 150-200 per day, which helps him support his mother Mughali and two sisters. Dar’s father Mohammad Ramzan Dar, a ragpicker on the Wular himself, died of cancer in 2003.

“The corporation has given him a uniform this time and he educates people in other areas, educates and motivates them for cleanliness. Bilal Dar is small in age but the reason for inspiration is for everyone interested in cleanliness. I congratulate Bilal Dar very much,” Modi said.