Stories
5 Indians Quietly Transforming India: From Cleaning Rivers to Saving Wildlife
- •Surendra Singh Chaudhary, known as Bittu Tabahi, cleaned the heavily polluted Ajnar River in Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and continues environmental clean-up missions.
- •Mumbai's Dadarao Bilhore, "Pothole Dada," fills potholes by hand after losing his son to a road accident caused by a pothole, turning personal grief into public service.
- •Sonam Wangchuk from Ladakh innovated the Ice Stupa technique for artificial glaciers to conserve water and co-founded SECMOL for practical education.
- •Chinu Kwatra's Beach Warriors initiative has mobilized thousands of volunteers for over 450 weeks, cleaning Mumbai's beaches and removing tons of waste.
- •Aman Sharma transformed his Delhi terrace into a wildlife habitat with over 500 plants, attracting more than 200 bird and 25 butterfly species.
Key Questions Answered
Dadarao Bilhore began filling potholes by hand after tragically losing his 16-year-old son, Prakash, in a fatal road accident when his motorcycle hit a pothole on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road. He has since turned his personal grief into a public service by repairing dangerous potholes using sand and gravel.
Sonam Wangchuk has worked to support communities in Ladakh through education as the co-founder of SECMOL, introducing practical and creative learning for students. He also developed the innovative Ice Stupa technique to create artificial glaciers for water conservation in extreme high-altitude conditions.
Popularly known as Bittu Tabahi, 21-year-old Surendra Singh Chaudhary took it upon himself to clean the heavily polluted Ajnar River in Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, which was choked with plastic, algae, and debris. He began his solo clean-up initiative on January 26, 2026, using his personal savings to remove tonnes of waste.
