New Delhi
When the 21-year-old student Surendra Singh Choudhary, launched a campaign to clean a polluted river in Madhya Pradesh by himself, he hardly realized it would attract attention of global environmental firsm and the galvanise government into action.
Choudhary, a BSc Student from Biaora, Rajgarh district of Madhya pradesh launches a single-handed cleanup campaign for the polluted Ajnar River. It took him months to remove plastic and trash from the rRiver by spending his own money on supplies despite getting infections on his hands.
He is known by his online name of Bittu Tabahi.
Slat responded to a post on X highlighting Choudhary’s efforts. The post described him as a “20-year-old Indian man” who had been cleaning the polluted river on his own for months and included before-and-after pictures of the waterway.
Dutch founder Boyan Slat has offered 20-year-old Bittu Tabahi a job and a possible move to the Netherlands after his viral Ajnar River cleanup videos. The Ocean Cleanup CEO replied “Come work for us” to posts showing the Madhya Pradesh student’s months-long solo fight against… pic.twitter.com/uH5dzm72vN
— Queen 👸 (@PKMB_PKMB) September 5, 2026
Boyan Slat was 16 when he went scuba diving and saw more plastic bags than fish. Instead of just being upset by it, he started wondering if there was a way to actually clean it up.
He began researching ocean plastic for a school project. Then he took the idea much further. Slat later started studying aerospace engineering. But he dropped out of university and founded The Ocean Cleanup in 2013.
Build technology capable of removing huge amounts of plastic from the ocean. The first versions did not work perfectly.
Today, The Ocean Cleanup has systems actively removing plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and intercepting trash in rivers before it reaches the sea.
By 2026, the organization said its operations had removed tens of millions of kilograms of waste. It started with a teenager seeing too much plastic in the water.
Bittu Tabahi had been independently working to clear the river of plastic waste, algae and other accumulated rubbish. Videos of his efforts went viral on social media, drawing attention to his work.
Surender with MP Chief Minister:
One person.
— Neetu Khandelwal (@T_Investor_) September 5, 2026
One mission.
A massive impact.
Bittu Tabahi is the new viral sensation.
From cleaning a filthy river with his own hands to getting a job opportunity in the Netherlands, Bittu Tabahi is a proof that your work is your introduction.
Surendra Singh Choudhary,… pic.twitter.com/EZKOkjuHKu
Surendra started the drive on Jan 26, 2026, navigating health risks like limb infections & encountering snakes while cleaning debris near a local temple. The local municipality has also supported his campaign by providing JCB and Poclain machines to remove accumulated old waste and polythene.
#WATCH | Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh: Sub-Engineer at Municipal Corporation, Biaora, Rupesh Kumar Netam, says, "There is a young man named Bittu (real name: Surendra Singh Chaudhary) who regularly cleans the Ajnar River in Biaora; the municipality also provides him with support in… https://t.co/faF9YHaSsU pic.twitter.com/Q8VkODoE2V
— ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2026
Reacting to Tabahi’s efforts, Sub-Engineer at Municipal Corporation, Biaora, Rupesh Kumar Netam, says, "There is a young man named Bittu (real name: Surendra Singh Chaudhary) who regularly cleans the Ajnar River in Biaora; the municipality also provides him with support in this effort."
He explained that five large drains discharge into the Biaora River; to stop this wastewater, the government has prepared a proposal to construct an STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) costing approximately ₹14.77 crore.
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His work has also caught the attention of many top business leaders.
