ABRAR MATTOO
SRINAGAR, Feb 14: Though journalism is seen as a very demanding profession in regard to footwork required during the reportage, Ganderbal’s Bilal Ahmad Ganie has defied his disability and has been conquering the profession for at least six years now.
A resident of Ganderbal’s Kangan, 26-year-old Bilal has birth defects in his legs, though not as severe that he cannot walk, but Bilal admits that he cannot walk as comfortably as a normal person. Bilal has worked both as a field reporter and an editor for various National and local news platforms. He is mainly driven to highlight public issues and grievances.
Presently, Bilal is working as Bureau Chief of the reputed news agency Press Trust of Kashmir (PTK). Additionally, he works as a correspondent with Jammu-based newspaper Sada-e-Khostaan and Abhi news channel which is based in Uttar Pradesh’s Madhur.
While speaking with Kashmir Despatch, Bilal reminisced the various incidents and occasions which have fashioned him as a hardened journalist.
“I remember that in 2019, I was covering an encounter in Ganderbal’s forest, and it stretched overnight. I was forced with another fellow reporter to spend the night in a small cave and when we woke up in the morning, there were three bullet holes in the wall just above our chest,” Bilal remembers while reiterating that it is incidents such as these that have changed his perspective about journalism, and but they have never deterred him from following his passion: Journalism.
Bilal completed elementary education at Mallinson Educational Institute Prang and passed his class 8th in 2009, following which he enrolled in Sindh Valley Educational Institute Kangan and matriculated from there.
He opted for the Medical stream in high school and crossed his 12th from Boys Higher Secondary School Kangan. However, due to financial conditions at home, he was not able to continue his studies in regular mode and completed his bachelor’s degree through IGNOU.
Bilal entered in the journalism field in the year 2016 and started working as a reporter with a local magazine, the Information Right, after which he joined a web portal named the Voice of Kashmir in 2019. Later, he also joined the Kashmir Tribune newspaper as a correspondent.
Bilal is thankful to his family for being his backbone and providing him with a sustainable support system, despite their lack of material means.
Bilal says that he will continue to highlight public issues and work as a bridge between the people and the government. He hopes that the future would be kind to journalism and he would be able to continuously dedicate himself to the profession of his heart.
