BENGALURU: Surendra Singh Choudhary, the 21-year-old Madhya Pradesh environmentalist known as ‘Bittu Tabahi’ for his solo cleanup of the heavily polluted Ajnar River, joined a cleanliness drive at Turahalli Forest near BSK 6th Stage in Bengaluru on Saturday.Choudhary took part in the drive along with local residents, civic organisations and active citizen collectives.The initiative was carried out in collaboration with local lifestyle brand Ecological Drive and also saw the participation of Indian environmentalist and retired Indian Forest Service officer AN Yellappa Reddy.Choudhary, who gained attention after documenting his efforts to clean the Ajnar River in Biaora, Rajgarh district, has since expanded his environmental work beyond his hometown.He began cleaning the plastic-choked Ajnar River on January 26, spending around Rs 30,000 of his own money on basic tools and supplies.He cleaned three major ghats despite having no proper protective gear or even knowing how to swim.His efforts later drew attention from industrialist Anand Mahindra and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav.Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen also praised the cleanup as “heroic” and said it deserved international recognition.The campaign eventually led to Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of Netherlands-based environmental organisation The Ocean Cleanup, offering Choudhary a job.Choudhary later told TOI that Slat had contacted him and taken down his credentials, though the exact role had not yet been discussed.The Ajnar cleanup also prompted the Biaora municipal corporation to deploy JCB and Poclain machines to remove accumulated waste and polythene from the river.Choudhary has since said his objective is not limited to the Ajnar and that he wants to take his environmental work to other public spaces.
