Rahul Somvanshi
A 20-year-old student from a small town in Madhya Pradesh spent months pulling plastic out of a polluted river, largely with his own hands and basic tools. Now the CEO of one of the world’s best-known ocean cleanup organisations has publicly told him: “Come work for us.”
Surendra Singh Choudhary, known online as Bittu Tabahi, lives in Biaora in Rajgarh district. He started cleaning the Ajnar River on January 26, 2026. The work involved removing plastic bottles, weeds, algae, and accumulated domestic waste that had built up in the river over time. He documented the process — the before and the after — and posted it on social media.
The response
On September 4, Boyan Slat — the Dutch founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, a Netherlands-based nonprofit that develops large-scale technologies to remove plastic from oceans and rivers — publicly replied to a post about Choudhary’s work with two words: “Come work for us.”
That is a genuine, verifiable public statement. It is not, at this point, a completed job offer with a contract, salary, or confirmed relocation to the Netherlands. The distinction matters. Reporting it as a done deal — “student gets job in Netherlands” — would go beyond what has been confirmed. What is confirmed is a public invitation from one of the most recognised names in plastic pollution cleanup.
What happened locally
Choudhary’s effort drew attention at the state level. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav met him and praised the cleanup initiative publicly. Local municipal authorities in Biaora subsequently provided machinery to support the effort — a significant step, because the scale of river waste in small towns often exceeds what one person can shift by hand.
What The Ocean Cleanup does
The organisation designs systems to collect plastic passively — using the movement of water and current to funnel waste into collection systems. It operates in oceans and rivers globally. Its river interceptor program is specifically designed for waterways like the Ajnar.
Whether Choudhary ends up formally joining that work or not, his months of cleanup on the Ajnar River drew public recognition from a state chief minister and a public invitation from one of the most recognised names in river pollution work globally.
