Bittu Tabahi river cleaning campaign reaches Delhi-NCR, removes 585 kg of garbage from Yamuna and 2,435 kg from Gurgaon | Today’s news
Surendra Singh Chaudhary, widely known as ‘Bittu Tabahi’, who rose to fame after cleaning a heavily polluted river in Madhya Pradesh, has now removed 585 kg of garbage from the Jamuna river in the state capital. The 21-year-old, who received a job offer from a Dutch environmental organization, conducted a cleanliness drive in Delhi on September 20, which is World Cleanup Day.
Sharing a video on Instagram, he said that he and other volunteers spent three days cleaning the river and on the first day, they removed roughly 585 kg of trash from the bank.
Bittu Tabahi said the trash collected included religious offerings and plastic waste.
“September 20th, World Cleanup Day. Four and a half hours of cleaning on the banks of the Yamuna and collectively removed 585 kg of garbage,” he wrote in the caption of his post.
“Flower garlands, religious items, plastic, everything was strewn on the jetty. People came around, distributed and the entire edge was cleaned,” he said.
Pollution of the Yamuna has long been a major issue in Delhi politics. The issue has come up in election manifestos where political parties have promised to clean up the sacred river, while successive governments have unveiled plans to rid the river of pollution.
Read also | Bittu Tabahi MP cleans up polluted river alone, Kevin Pietersen calls ‘heroic’
After cleaning the Yamuna, the 21-year-old embarked on a cleanliness drive in Gurugram, which led to the removal of 2,435 kg of garbage from Khedki Daula.
After Delhi and Gurugram, the final phase of the campaign reached Noida. Bittu announced a cleanliness drive at Yuva Shakti Ghat in Sector 94 to start at 6 am and appealed to the public to join him in cleaning the banks of the Yamuna.
Who is Bittu Tabahi?
Chaudhary hails from Biaora in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh. He documented his cleanup efforts through videos posted on Instagram, showing him removing plastic, algae and other debris from the Ajnar River.
Bittu launched his river cleaning campaign on January 26, 2026, Republic Day. What originally started as an endeavor with a small group of friends has gradually become a largely solo venture.
He manually removed significant amounts of waste from the river, using basic equipment and at times working without adequate safety equipment. Bittu also spoke about the physical risks associated with the job, including infections, severe skin irritation and encounters with snakes while carrying out cleaning activities in and around water.
Read also | Bittu Tabahi hits back at Dhruv Rathee for criticizing MP CM meeting
The initiative was largely financed from his personal savings. He used his own money to buy equipment and other materials needed for the cleanup units.
His work to revive the Ajnar River eventually attracted international attention. Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of the Dutch environmental organization The Ocean Cleanup, noticed Bittu’s efforts and offered him a job.