A 21-year-old recently went viral after he posted about his efforts to clean up the Ajnar River in Biaora, Madhya Pradesh, on his own. Surendra Singh Chaudhary, known online as Bittu Tabahi, sparked a movement by posting before-and-after photos of the polluted river that had been cleaned up. Singer Chinmayi Sripaada was impressed with his move and hoped that he would receive a Padma Award for it.
Since Bittu’s video, another Instagram-user named Sevendra is also gaining traction for cleaning up water bodies around him. “Another kid from India who cleaned the river. This is the kind of trend, Indian Gen Z has set. Bravo!” wrote an X user posting his pictures. Chinmayi reacted, hoping that they get Padma Awards, writing, “Both these guys need to be awarded with the Padma awards. She also hoped that politicians don’t stop people from cleaning up rivers and continuing the movement. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav met Bittu after his viral video, and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee accused the politician and government of seeking credit. Commenting on the CM’s Instagram account, the YouTuber wrote, “Aa gaye credit lene.. Sara kaam ek ladke ne kiya aur jab viral hua toh use bula liya photoshoot ke liye aur besharmi toh dekho, usse kya bulwa rahe ho? ‘Sarkar toh kar hi rahi hai’ Kya kar rahi hai sarkar? Kuch nahi, sirf PR kar rahi. (They have come to take credit. One boy did all the work, and when he went viral, they called him for a photoshoot. And look at the audacity, what are they making him say? ‘The government is already doing its work. What is the government doing? Nothing, just PR).”
Bittu responded: “Dhruv Bhaiya credit lene ki baat nahi hai, Govt. ne pehle bhi mere kaam ko appreciate kia hai, Baat yaha civic sense ki hai; main bas ye chahta hu log bhi apni jimmedari samjhe, or meri tarah swachta ke lie aage aye. (Brother Dhruv, this is not about taking credit. The issue here is civic sense. I only want people to understand their responsibility and come forward for cleanliness, just as I did). Chinmayi recently dubbed for Mrunal Thakur in Dacoit: A Love Story, Trisha Krishnan in Karuppu and Kayadu Lohar in Idhayam Murali.
The government has appreciated my work earlier as well.
