A BRADFORD community figure says he feels a "great sense of achievement" after shaving off his hair, beard and 52-year-old moustache in support of a campaign to end polio worldwide.

Dr Manoj Joshi DL had dyed his facial hair purple earlier this month - in support of the campaign - before vowing to shave it all off to raise both money and awareness.

68-year-old Dr Joshi had a moustache for 52 years and admitted he was "anxious" before the big shave, as no one had seen him without it since he was a teen.

But on Saturday, Dr Joshi underwent his transformation in City Park, and has - so far - raised over £3,600 for the End Polio Now campaign in the process.

"Saturday was fantastic - I managed to shave off the hair, beard and moustache and a lot of people supported me", Dr Joshi said.

"It was a great feeling. A small step like mine raised so much money which will help to vaccinate 75,000 children against polio."

Dr Joshi has supported many social causes over the years, promoting community cohesion as well as advocating for improvements to social care services and education.

He is currently the immediate past district governor for Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland and the chairman of governors at Bradford Academy.

He is also a Rotary member and has been  for 37 years - claiming to be the first South Asian member of any Rotary Club in Yorkshire.

Rotary is working to end polio, which is a serious viral infection which can be life-threatening.

In August, the World Health Organisation certified that the African continent was free from wild polio, and now Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries where polio is still classified as endemic.

"I hope actions like mine can make a difference to children and now help to eradicate polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan", Dr Joshi said.

"Shaving off my moustache, which I have had for 52 years, was a personal sacrifice which will save a lot of lives and take burdens off of families.

"Inside I feel very proud and satisfied, but from the outside, it looks very strange to me, because I have never experienced looking in the mirror and not seeing my moustache!

"I feel strange externally, I keep touching my face to see where my moustache has gone - people look at me and say 'wow' and I've been told I look twenty years younger! 

"On Saturday, I was walking around and looking for a place where I could get the big shave done, as it was raining. People were looking at me probably wondering what this strange man with a big purple beard was doing!

"We ended up doing the shave in the archway between Starbucks and Wetherspoons, and people who were sitting in both of those places were watching and cheering and were very inquisitive as to what was going on - so we had an audience, from a distance!

"The COVID situation is so restrictive and depressing, but we have to be positive like this, during these times of doom and gloom. That's how we will make progress.

"I want to thank everybody who has contributed and supported, and thanks to the Telegraph & Argus for helping to get the ball rolling, too.

"However, the fight to end polio is still not over - not until we get rid of it completely and we have the declaration from the World Health Organisation to say we've got rid of polio, across the world, for good.

"That must remain the objective."

Javed Bashir, Founder of Bradford's Volunteering Interfaith Programme (VIP) and Safeguarding Consultant with Strengthening Faith Institutions (SFI), was in attendance for the big shave, and said: "I have known Manoj for more than twenty years. He is a very prominent member of the community and has done a lot of work to promote community relations and charitable work in the district, including with the Lord Mayor's charity.   

"Manoj is alo part of the VIP team where he has been involved in distributing food to elderly, vulnerable and isolated people during lockdown.

"I also travelled to Bosnia with Manoj as part of the Remembering Srebrenica delegation. He was deeply moved to visit Srebrenica where more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by the Bosnian Serb Army. 

"I joined him at this auspicious shaving ceremony which took place in City Park on Saturday. Whilst it happened, we were all waiting anxiously, as was his wife Bhavna, to see what he really looked like as no one had seen him without his moustache!

"We were all surprised and pleased to see that he looked much younger. His wife also commented that he looked twenty years younger.

"His daughter, Megha Joshi, as well as many friends around the district and the world were also watching it live on Facebook.

"By doing this, Manoj not only raised money for charity, but also highlighted global efforts toward a polio-free world and honoured the tireless contributions of those on the frontlines in the fight to eradicate polio from every corner of the globe. 

"Manoj has vowed to continue his work with VIP and will be distributing food packs during the Interfaith Week, to forge better community relations in the district."