Boy Who Spent Months Cleaning Polluted River Gets Job Offer From Dutch Environmentalist: ‘Come Work For Us’

A 20-year-old Indian man’s months-long mission to clean the garbage-filled Ajnar River has caught international attention, with The Ocean Cleanup founder and CEO Boyan Slat extending a job offer to him after his efforts went viral online.

Surendra Singh Choudhary, popularly known as Bittu Tabahi, had reportedly been clearing plastic waste and other garbage from the polluted waterway on his own for several months. A video documenting his efforts, along with images showing the stark contrast between the river before and after the cleanup, recently gained traction on social media.

The video and Choudhary’s cleanup efforts eventually caught the attention of Slat, who reacted to an X post highlighting the young man’s work. The post described how the 20-year-old

had been cleaning the heavily polluted river himself and featured pictures showing the transformation. Slat responded with a brief invitation: “Come work for us.”

The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Slat, is a Netherlands-based organisation that develops and scales solutions to remove plastic pollution from oceans and rivers.

The brief response quickly became a talking point online, with another X user, @IndianGems_, claiming that Slat had offered Bittu a job and a move to the Netherlands following his viral river-cleaning video.

The reported offer sparked a divided reaction among social media users. One user wrote, “He should accept the offer and leave India. Nobody cares about his hard work here. Life gives you very few chances to leave hellhole.”

Another commented, “Western countries moved ahead because they learned to respect work. India, meanwhile, is still busy treating politicians like their fathers.”

A third user said, “He should just escape India, he’s got once in a lifetime opportunity to improve his family’s life.”

Another urged him to take the opportunity, writing, “He has a chance to move abroad and build a better future hopefully he takes it. And Don’t get brainwashed with the usual “stay here and sacrifice your life to help the country grow”.🙄”

Dutch founder Boyan Slat has offered 20 year old Bittu a job and a move to the Netherlands after his viral river-cleaning video: Report pic.twitter.com/3PTaE6199j

— 🚨Indian Gems (@IndianGems_) September 5, 2026

However, not everyone welcomed the reported offer. One user questioned the motivation behind Slat’s response and wrote, “Can’t you see through this colonial mindset tamasha? He only wants to highlight how dirty India and Indians are. He should worry about Netherlands and mind his own business. Indians need civic sense but this is an oblique lecture for us from outsiders, don’t fall for it.”

Others continued to encourage Bittu to consider the opportunity. “If anyone knows him and if this is a genuine offer.. Ask him to take it.. His future generations will Thank him,” one user said.

Another added, “He better take the offer and leave for a good life. This could be his passport to change his life forever,”

Disclaimer: This article is based on user-generated content. The claims made in the original post have not been independently verified by News18.