Environmental volunteer and social-media creator Surendra Singh Choudhary, popularly known as Bittu Tabahi, has expanded his river-cleaning campaign beyond Madhya Pradesh, joining volunteers to remove waste from the banks of the Yamuna in Delhi.
According to Choudhary’s account of the drive, the group collected approximately 585 kilograms of garbage during four and a half hours of cleaning on September 20, World Cleanup Day.
The cleanup follows the widespread attention Choudhary received for his earlier work on the Ajnar River in Biaora, Madhya Pradesh, where videos documenting his efforts to remove accumulated waste went viral.
585 Kg of Waste Collected in 4.5 Hours
The Yamuna campaign began on September 20, 2026, with Choudhary saying the initiative would continue for three days.
During the first drive, he worked alongside volunteers and local participants to clear waste from the riverbank.
Choudhary said that flowers, garlands, religious-offering materials and plastic were among the waste scattered around the ghat.
In a social-media post describing the cleanup, he said:
“20 September, World Cleanup Day. Four and a half hours of cleaning on the banks of the Yamuna, and together removed 585 kg of garbage.”
He also thanked people who joined the effort and helped clear the riverbank.
The 585-kg figure comes from Choudhary’s account of the cleanup and has subsequently been reported by multiple news outlets.
From Ajnar River to the Yamuna
The Delhi initiative represents an expansion of a campaign that first brought Choudhary national attention in Madhya Pradesh.
Choudhary, who comes from Biaora in Rajgarh district, began working on the polluted Ajnar River earlier in 2026.
He told NDTV that he began the initiative on January 26, 2026, initially working with friends and continuing the cleaning effort over subsequent months.
His work involved manually removing accumulated plastic, algae and other debris from polluted sections of the water body.
Videos documenting the cleanup subsequently spread widely online, drawing attention to both the condition of the river and Choudhary’s hands-on approach.
Online Attention Turned a Local Cleanup Into a Wider Campaign
Choudhary’s work on the Ajnar River generated significant attention beyond Madhya Pradesh.
His campaign was praised publicly by several prominent figures, including industrialist Anand Mahindra and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
His efforts also caught the attention of Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of Netherlands-based environmental organisation The Ocean Cleanup.
After seeing a social-media post about Choudhary’s work, Slat publicly invited him to work with the organisation, writing:
“Come work for us.”
The exchange demonstrated how a local cleanup effort documented online had reached an international environmental organisation.
Community Participation Becomes Part of the Mission
While Choudhary’s early work attracted attention as an individual initiative, the Yamuna campaign highlights another aspect of the effort: community participation.
Reports from the Delhi cleanup indicate that volunteers and people in the surrounding area joined Choudhary during the drive.
That distinction matters because removing existing garbage addresses only one part of river pollution. Preventing waste from repeatedly entering riverbanks and waterways requires sustained waste management, public participation and civic infrastructure.
Choudhary has increasingly framed his campaign around spreading awareness and encouraging people in different cities to participate in cleanliness initiatives rather than limiting his work to one river.
Why the Yamuna Cleanup Matters
The 585-kg collection represents a specific cleanup operation rather than evidence that the wider Yamuna pollution problem has been resolved.
The river extends across multiple states and faces environmental pressures that go far beyond visible litter on individual stretches of riverbank.
Choudhary’s campaign is therefore better understood as a citizen-led cleanliness and awareness initiative, rather than a substitute for the larger infrastructure and pollution-control measures required for river restoration.
Still, collecting hundreds of kilograms of visible waste from a riverbank within several hours illustrates the scale of garbage that can accumulate at individual locations—and how organised volunteers can contribute to addressing it.
Gurugram Is Next on the Cleanup Route
Choudhary has indicated that his campaign will not end with the Yamuna.
According to his announcement, Gurugram’s Kherki Daula area is expected to be the next stop in his cleanliness mission.
The move reflects his stated ambition to take the campaign to different places and encourage greater public awareness around waste disposal and protection of local water bodies.
From Viral Videos to On-Ground Environmental Action
Bittu Tabahi’s rise on social media is unusual because the attention has been closely tied to visible environmental work.
His journey began with a local water body in Madhya Pradesh, developed into a widely shared social-media story and has now expanded into cleanup campaigns outside his home state.
The long-term impact of such initiatives will depend not simply on how much garbage can be removed during individual drives, but on whether the attention they generate encourages communities, local authorities and other stakeholders to prevent waste from returning.
For now, the Yamuna drive provides another example of how a citizen-led environmental campaign can use online visibility to bring volunteers to an offline problem.
