India, Sept. 6 -- A BSc student from Madhya Pradesh has captured widespread attention after videos of him cleaning the trash-filled Ajnar River went viral. Surendra Singh Choudhary, popularly known as Bittu Tabahi, began removing plastic, bottles, weeds and other waste from the river in Biaora in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district, eventually continuing the clean-up largely on his own.

His initiative has earned widespread praise, but Choudhary is not the first Indian to step in when a problem appeared too big for one person. Over the years, several individuals have taken matters into their own hands and created a lasting impact with limited resources.

Bilal Ahmad Dar was only a teenager when he began collecting plastic and other waste fr...