A 20-year-old man in Madhya Pradesh has spent months cleaning a severely polluted river largely by himself. His efforts have now drawn the attention of Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat, who invited him to join his organisation, The Ocean Cleanup.
Surendra Singh Choudhry, popularly known online as Bittu Tabahi, has been removing plastic, discarded materials and other waste from the Ajnar River while also cleaning the surrounding public areas.
His work was not part of an official campaign or a major environmental initiative. Instead, Surendra paid for basic cleaning supplies out of his own pocket and regularly turned up to clear rubbish from the river.
In an Instagram post, he shared before-and-after images of the Ajnar River. The first photograph showed the waterway and its surroundings covered in waste, while the second revealed a dramatically cleaner scene following his efforts.
The images highlighted the impact one person can make through consistent effort, even without the support of a large organisation or team.
His work eventually came to the attention of Boyan Slat, the Dutch CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, an organisation focused on tackling plastic pollution in oceans and rivers.
An X account posted about Surendra’s efforts, noting that the 20-year-old had spent months cleaning the heavily polluted Ajnar River on his own and shared his before-and-after photographs.
Slat responded with a brief but significant invitation: “Come work with us.”
The offer has given Surendra Choudhry’s clean-up campaign an unexpected new direction. What started as one young man’s personal effort to restore his local river could now lead to an opportunity to work with a globally recognised organisation dedicated to fighting plastic pollution.
