Eight Months Of Work Down The Dumps? Bittu Tabahi Finds Ajnar River Choked With Garbage Again

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Surendra Singh Choudhary, the 20-year-old known online as Bittu Tabahi, who drew widespread attention for cleaning the Ajnar River in Madhya Pradesh largely on his own, shared a disappointing update about the river on his Instagram account on Tuesday.

In a video, Tabahi showed the present condition of the Ajnar River in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district, saying that his eight months of hard work had been wasted. He highlighted a disappointing contrast with its condition a few weeks ago, when the river was clean. As of Tuesday, it was once again covered with plastic bags and garbage.

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Tabahi, who earned recognition last month from many people, including those far beyond his town, for cleaning rivers largely on his own, has constantly drawn attention to the recurring problem of river pollution and the lack of responsibility on the part of citizens. Over two days, he shared two videos highlighting the dire state of the river. These videos came weeks after he shared another video showing the banks of the Ajnar River completely clean.

Tabahi spent almost eight months cleaning the river the first time and pulled tonnes of garbage out of it, without any support from authorities or any fancy equipment. However, after seeing the river polluted again, he resumed cleaning it and pulling out trash bags, one at a time. In his video, he also highlights that although he is not a strong swimmer, he is cautiously continuing his efforts to clean the Ajnar River.

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He also asked people to share suggestions online that would help him remove garbage from the river more swiftly and efficiently.

Social media reactions

Following Tabahi's video, several people praised his efforts on social media and applauded him for his courage in cleaning the river again. While one user wrote,“That's an awful amount of waste floating in the water beneath that bridge! It must be frustrating to face this every time, but please don't give up. Your hard work deserves so much appreciation,” another offered advice, suggesting that he wear appropriate clothing for this type of cleaning, including special boots and special pants.

A third user highlighted the root cause of the problem:“Talk to the Municipal Corporation and get a fine imposed for dumping garbage here. Otherwise, this will keep happening.”

Who is Bittu Tabahi?

A resident of Biaora in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district, Choudhary shares videos of his cleanup efforts on Instagram, recording how he removes plastic, algae, and other waste from the Ajnar River.

Reports say he began the initiative in January this year and has cleared accumulated garbage from stretches of the river. Digital content creator KR Talks claimed that Choudhary spent approximately ₹30,000 on the work.

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He has previously received appreciation from industrialist Anand Mahindra and also received a job offer from Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of Netherlands-based environmental organisation The Ocean Cleanup.

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