Balwinder Singh Bhattal, a head constable with the Punjab Police at the Ludhiana SSP’s office, has motivated many people to donate their eyes after death.

Recalling his early brushes with the social service, Bhattal says ever since he joined the Punjab Police in the early 1980s, he was inclined towards social service.

Soon, he started managing the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at his village Bhanaur. “I took up the job in 1992 as one of my relatives, who was earlier manning the PHC, passed away. An inner voice prompted me to take this responsibility,” says Bhattal.

On his joining the eye donation movement, Bhattal, in his early 50s, says: “It was in 1998 when I had taken my old mother to get her eyes checked. There I met Dr Ramesh who was serving the cause of the blind.”

He narrates further how the eye donation movement run by Dr Ramesh received momentum which later led the doctor to establish the Punarjot Eye Bank.

The movement, however, comes with its own share of problems. “When I ask the relatives to allow the deceased’s eyes to be donated, they just ask me to go away. But I never get discouraged. I motivate people through Gurbaani and tell them that by donating the eyes of their loved one, they can feel his/her presence even when he is no more.”

Bhattal acknowledges the cooperation he has received from senior officers. “Whenever a new SSP joins, I take his permission to continue with my mission. None of my officers have ever stopped me,” he adds.