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Dubai: He smiled and his eyes blinked in response to people bidding him goodbye at Dubai International Airport last Tuesday.
Billu, 29, returned to his hometown in the North Indian state of Rajasthan where he will undergo treatment and rehabilitation, arranged by a Dubai-based Indian organisation known as the Valley of Love (VoL).
"A nurse from Rashid Hospital in Dubai accompanied Billu to Islampur, a small village. Due to a joint effort by the VoL and by a good Samaritan in Raj-asthan, we were able to admit Billu to a hospital there," said C.P. Mathew, who along with other VoL volunteers used to spend his evenings by Billu's bedside at the hospital.
Billu was in a coma for nearly a year and regained consciousness in August last year. Gulf News reported Billu's story on August 13, 2007, after he had regained consciousness.
Dubai police admitted him to hospital in June 2006 after he was found lying unconscious on the road after an accident. Billu also had a severe heatstroke.
Rashid Hospital did its best to find out all it could about Billu and also sought assistance from the VoL volunteers.
It was a challenge to establish his identity since he did not carry any papers. The only clue was the collar label on his shirt. The label read B.L. Tailor, Islampur, telephone 329839.
Persistence
There are three towns named Islampur in India. With limited resources at their disposal, the VoL volunteers persistently called the phone number.
Their efforts were successful after two weeks when a man by the name of Babubhai from B.L.Tailors from Islampur, a sleepy village in Jhunjhun district in Rajasthan, answered the telephone and confirmed the address.
Delighted by this breakthrough, VoL volunteers followed through by attempting to find if Billu had any friends or family in the UAE.
Billu's photograph was distributed to workers who came to the refreshment stall at the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department during the third general amnesty declared last year.
On June 30, a worker named Pramod approached VoL and introduced himself as Billu's cousin.
Pramod established Billu's identity as Jagdish Prasad, 29, a married man with three children and elderly parents back home.
He was also the sole breadwinner for his family. Pramod had no idea that Billu, who was employed in Abu Dhabi, had come to Dubai and was involved in a road accident. Pramod, who used to sit by Billu's bedside after work, is now in India.
Campaign
"He was an illegal worker and went back home during the amnesty period last year. When he was here he used to come every day to the hospital and sit by Billu's bedside until late into the night and at times had to walk back to his accommodation when he missed the last public bus or did not have any money for a taxi," said Mathew.
The charity organisation started a "Save Billu Campaign" to raise funds to get him back home. The response was overwhelming from people belonging to a cross section of communities in the UAE, said Mathew.
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