How a 20-yr-old single-handedly cleaned a Madhya Pradesh river despite no funding, serious health risks

Surendra Singh Chaudhary, a 20-year-old BSc student from Madhya Pradesh, has gained widespread attention online after spending more than two months cleaning a heavily polluted stretch of the Ajnar River largely by himself.

Chaudhary, a second-year student from Biaora in Rajgarh district who uses the online moniker "Bittu Tabahi", said the idea had been on his mind for some time, says the Times of India.

"I used to think about it beforehand. Whenever I used to go to the temple or went past the river, I used to think about cleaning the river."

"I started this work on the 26th of January. And I have been doing it ever since."

Some of his friends initially joined the effort, but their involvement gradually declined.

"Yes, I had friends. But gradually, things started to change. Some people liked it and some didn't," Chaudhary said.

The clean-up came with significant health and safety risks. Chaudhary did not know how to swim when he started and worked without proper protective equipment in the contaminated water. Prolonged exposure caused the skin on his hands and feet to peel, while he also developed persistent infections in his feet.

The initiative received no government funding. Chaudhary and his friends contributed about 30,000 rupees ($350) to purchase basic equipment and install dustbins along the river in an effort to prevent further littering.

"I had installed a few dustbins as well around the river. Dustbins were installed by myself only, no funding from anyone," he said.

He also collected discarded religious offerings from the water and turned them into organic compost.

Chaudhary said he remained largely quiet about the effort at home, with his family unaware of the scale of his work.

"My family didn't know about it."

"They found out when Anand Mahindra posted it on Twitter."

Indian industrialist Anand Mahindra's post helped bring wider attention to Chaudhary's efforts. His family subsequently became concerned about the effect the work was having on his health.

"They told me not to do it alone. Your health will be affected and things like that," Chaudhary said of his family's reaction.

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen also praised Chaudhary's efforts on social media.

"I read this story this am and wanted to share it with you! WELL DONE, Bhai! Heroic, I say! Deserves international recognition!"

Chaudhary said he has also faced criticism and ridicule from people in his local community.

"They make fun of me, call me crazy."

He has also faced scepticism online, with some users accusing him of using artificial intelligence to create fake before-and-after videos showing the transformation of the river.

Chaudhary rejected those claims in an Instagram video.

"After cleaning the river so much, people will call it AI."

"I used to clean the river by breaking it. Then I used JCB's help to clean the dirt in the river. You can see that I have not done this work with AI."

"I have done this work with my hard work."

Chaudhary said the public's continued littering remained a challenge despite his efforts.

"I don't know why people throw garbage in the river. I don't know why they do that. You can't stop them."

The stretch of the river he worked on is now "very clean", he said.

"It is currently very clean."

Chaudhary does not intend to stop there and hopes to expand his environmental work.

"Currently, I want to do it on a bigger level."