UP’s ‘Cockroach Man’ hovers over CJP spin-off after raising awareness of Yamuna’s plight

Following the popularity of the satirical digital movement “Cockroach Janata Party” (CJP), a part-time “kathavachak” from Uttar Pradesh dressed as a cockroach arrived at the banks of the Yamuna in Mathura on May 22 in the hope of alerting the authorities to the pollution of the Yamuna.

“I realized the power of a cockroach after I dressed up as one,” says Deepak Sharma, 30, noting that he got a call from the Mathura municipal commissioner’s office to meet officials over the matter.

Mr. Sharma, a social activist and traditional religious storyteller (kathavachak) has now created his own ‘CJP’ or Common Justice platform.

He says he plans to tie up with Abhijeet Dipek, the 30-year-old Boston graduate who created the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’, in “the interest of the country and giving voice to the youth”.

“What if all the cockroaches got together,” Dipke, a graduate of Boston University’s Public Relations program, wrote on X on May 16, hours before the birth of the Cockroach Janata Party, which calls itself “a political front of the youth, by the youth, for the youth.”

Sharma says his ‘CJP’ was set up to draw attention to “blatant official apathy”.

“I realized the power of the cockroach when I dressed up to highlight the problem of Yamuna pollution. I got a call from the Mathura Municipal Commissioner’s office to meet the officials, but instead I invited them to Yamuna’s Keshi Ghat in Mathura to verify the facts,” he told PTI.

“The main reason for dressing up as a cockroach was, among other things, to use the sudden interest in the insect to draw attention to the neglect of the Yamuna river,” said Mr Sharma, now referred to by many as “the cockroach man”, adding that as a “resident of Mathura” he was appalled by the “official apathy” towards the river, which Hindus revere.

February 2026 data from the State Pollution Control Board signaled alarming levels of pollution in the Yamuna River at key locations such as Keshi Ghat, Vishram Ghat and Gokul Barrage (in Mathura).

KP Singh of the Biodiversity Research and Development Society, who analyzed the samples using official data, said: “While basic parameters such as temperature and pH remain within acceptable limits, some critical pollution indicators are far beyond safe standards.” The report also found extremely high concentrations of total and faecal coliform bacteria at all sites, indicating severe sewage contamination.

Experts said such conditions make the water unsafe for human consumption and even risky for swimming without proper treatment, posing a threat to aquatic biodiversity and allowing only pollution-resistant species to survive.

Sharma, whose father runs an NGO that serves monkeys and cows, says his platform has seen many takers in the past few days since its creation.

He said the ID cards he began handing out to volunteers bore “the image of a cockroach.”

“Already nearly 800 volunteers have signed up for my CJP, all of them are willing to identify themselves as cockroaches to shake up the system,” he said, adding that CJP is an apolitical movement that will go far beyond UP.

“We don’t want to compete in polls. Our aim is to create a swachh (clean) system,” he said, adding that he had also learned a lot about cockroaches in the past few days.

“These insects are like nature’s scavengers, with sharp reflexes and remarkable survival instincts,” he said.

Naresh Khandelwal, a resident of Mathura, is one of the many volunteers who have signed up for CJP.

“So far I am the only one in the family to join this platform, but it is growing in popularity and soon my cousin will be a part of it,” he said.

However, not everyone approves. “No one wants to have cockroaches in their household. This CJP is being supported by opposition parties to destabilize India,” Lucknow-based advocate Ankur Saxena said.

Saxena is of the view that platforms like CJP were just a ploy on social media to incite people against government policies.

Shekhar Dixit, president of the Rashtriya Kisan Morcha, said farmers could relate to the analogy as their interests were also being trampled.

“In today’s context, the condition of farmers has become a cockroach. After hearing and reading news reports about cockroaches, I feel that I have practically been reduced to a cockroach,” he said.

The morcha demands implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee.

Published – 01 Jun 2026 04:20 IST