Vadodara: Along the Vishwamitri’s banks, one man’s flowing hair tells a quiet story of persistence. For a decade, Sanjay Soni has refused to cut his hair, turning a personal vow into a symbol of Vadodara’s long, unfinished fight to restore its river and protect its iconic crocodiles.With his long hair and beard, Soni, 51, is a familiar presence by the river. What many assume is a style choice is, in fact, a pledge he made 10 years ago — not to cut his hair until the Vishwamitri is cleaned, freed of encroachments and allowed to flow naturally.“I began participating in the movement to save the Vishwamitri around 20 years ago. With some other activists, I would write to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) and other authorities to save the river and clean it up. Our focus was also on saving the crocodiles. But nothing worked,” Soni recalled.He later joined hands with activists Rohit Prajapati, Trupti Prajapati, Neha Sarvate and others to move the National Green Tribunal in 2016, seeking removal of encroachments, river cleaning and conservation of the crocodile population. “The idea was not to oppose development but to make it eco-friendly,” said Soni, a land broker.After filing the case, he took his now-defining vow. “I knew it was going to be a tough battle. I took the vow as it keeps reminding me about our collective fight to save the river, which is of historical and religious importance,” he said.“People think I have grown my hair as a style statement, but I have told very few of them about the vow. It has been ten years since I last stepped into a salon. And even if it takes another decade, or longer, to restore and protect the river, I will not cut my hair.”Maintaining his hair is not easy, but Soni shrugs off the challenge. His bond with the Vishwamitri began in 2006, when he visited a garage in Sayajigunj and saw crocodiles in the river for the first time. “I saw some crocodiles and got fascinated by the Vishwamitri’s ecosystem. Gradually, I started reading about the river and the historic ghats,” he said.That curiosity soon grew into action. With fellow Barodians, Soni helped initiate efforts to clean the ghats near Kala Ghoda Circle and reconnect citizens with the river.In 2021, he and others lit up the ghats with hundreds of diyas on Diwali, drawing large crowds. “The idea was to connect people with the river through these beautiful ghats. Hundreds of Barodians attended the event and joined our movement to save the river,” he said.His efforts have continued in different forms — from organising a ‘havan’ in 2023 to seek divine support for the river, to holding a condolence meet in 2025 after the deaths of seven crocodiles in the Vishwamitri.“I was associated with the forest department as a wildlife rescuer in the past. The crocodiles in the Vishwamitri are very close to my heart and I am one of the first to call forest officials whenever I see these reptiles in trouble,” Soni said.For Soni, every strand of hair is a reminder that the river’s story — and his own — is still unfolding.
