‘Ajnaar cleaned, next is Yamuna’; Bittu aims to spread message of cleanliness across India

NEW DELHI: Surendra Singh Chaudhary, popularly known as Bittu Tabahi, is the young man who gained global attention for cleaning the heavily polluted Ajnaar River in Madhya Pradesh. He has now started a cleanliness drive along the banks of the Yamuna in Delhi.

Bittu launched the three-day campaign on September 20 as part of World Cleanup Day. On the first day, Bittu and a group of volunteers spent around four-and-a-half hours cleaning the Yamuna riverbank. They removed around 585 kg of waste from the area. Bittu said large quantities of waste, including flowers, garlands, religious items and plastic, were scattered along the riverbank. Local residents also joined the cleaning drive, he said.

Bittu said his aim in life is to travel across different states and create awareness among people about cleanliness. He also announced that Kherki Daula in Gurugram will be the venue for his next cleaning drive. Following the global attention received by Bittu's efforts to clean the Ajnaar river, Boyan Slat, founder of a Netherlands-based environmental organisation, had offered him a job.

A video of Bittu's Yamuna cleaning drive shared on Instagram received more than 3.34 lakh views within hours. Several people have praised Bittu for his efforts, with many saying that he is proving that one person can bring about a major change in society.