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New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) on Monday highlighted the initiative of Madhya Pradesh youth Surendra Singh Choudhry, who took it upon himself to clean the Ajnar river in Rajgarh district, saying he is inspiring people across the country to care for rivers and do their bit.
In a post on X, the NMCG said Choudhry, a student from Madhya Pradesh known to his friends as “Bittu Tabahi”, waded into the Ajnar River and began cleaning it himself after seeing it choked with layers of garbage.
“He didn’t file a complaint, didn’t start a petition, and didn’t wait for the authorities to act. When he saw the Ajnar River choking under layers of garbage, he waded in and started cleaning it himself,” the Mission, under the Ministry
of Jal Shakti, said.
Choudhry has over 1.7 million followers on Instagram and regularly posts videos of himself and his friends cleaning stretches of rivers, often working alone.
He started the campaign on January 26(Republic Day) this year.
The NMCG also shared a 35-second video showing the before-and-after visuals of the river cleaning effort and said Choudhry’s actions have inspired others to step forward.
“He did not follow a trend. His actions inspired others to step forward,” the mission said, adding that many people are now following the path shown by him.
“That quiet, unglamorous act of one young man has since travelled far beyond the riverbank. His story has caught the attention of people across the country, not because it was dramatic, but because it was deeply human. It spoke about something many of us feel but rarely act on,” the NMCG said.
It said India does not lack resources or policies for its rivers, but needs more young people like Choudhry who are willing to bend down, pick up waste and begin the work themselves.
“His example is now moving and inspiring Indians to care, to wake up, and do their bit. In a country where water security is one of the defining challenges of our time, that ripple of inspiration may matter as much as the cleaning itself.
“Waiting for someone else is no longer an option,” it said in another post, accompanied by a video showing people at different locations taking up clean-up drives. PTI ADI ADI RT RT
