‘Bittu Tabahi is my Monday Motivation’: Anand Mahindra praises MP man for cleaning river alone

Industrial Anand Mahindra, known for his quirky posts on X, has lauded a young man from Madhya Pradesh for turning social media attention into a force for good, even as the latter faced criticism for his motives.Hailing from Biaora in Madhya Pradesh, Bittu Tabahi has built a following of over one lakh on Instagram. (X/@anandmahindra)Taking to X, Mahindra praised Bittu Tabahi, a resident of Biaora, MP, who was accused some of cleaning parts of a polluted river merely to gain online views. Offering a different perspective, Mahindra said that while social media is often blamed for promoting trivial content, it can also inspire meaningful action.“This young man from Biaora, M.P, was criticised for claiming to have cleaned parts of a river just in order to gain social media views. Well, we usually complain that social media rewards the trivial rather than the meaningful. So If a desire for ‘likes’ can become a force for good that’s fine with me…Bittu Tabahi from Biaora is my #MondayMotivation,” Mahindra wrote.The industrial also shared a video showing Bittu cleaning the polluted waters and manually removing plastic waste, debris and algae from the river, drawing widespread attention online.(Also Read: Lifeofpujaa row explained: Pujarini Pradhan hits back at accusations of being industry plant)Social media reactionsThe post quickly gained traction, with several users backing the young man’s efforts despite the criticism.“Fair take. In a space where clout often comes from noise, if someone’s chasing views and ending up cleaning a river, that’s still a net positive. Intent matters, but impact matters more. If “likes” can drive real work on the ground, maybe that’s a trend worth encouraging,” one user wrote.“Just like manjhi the mountain man we have Bittu the lonely warrior . If one person can do it , imagine if the country takes cleanliness seriously we might seriously be Swatch Bharat,” commented another.“Something better than nothing!! Salute to Bittu Tabahi. Started on Republic Day and still at it. River looks so much better now,” wrote a third user.“Motivation doesn’t matter as much as the outcome. If attention can be channelled into something useful, that’s a net positive. Also shows how incentives shape behaviour. If ‘likes’ start rewarding meaningful work, more people will move in that direction,” said one user.(Also Read: Pune ‘rockstar’ professor croons Mehbooba Mehbooba, students floored. Watch)Who is Bittu Tabahi?Hailing from Biaora in Madhya Pradesh, Bittu Tabahi has built a following of over one lakh on Instagram, where he regularly posts videos of himself cleaning littered public spaces and local water bodies.He recently went viral for manually cleaning the Ajnar river using basic tools. According to a report Economic Times, Bittu began the effort on January 26 along with a few friends, who eventually dropped out. Undeterred, he continued the cleanup alone, pulling out plastic and other waste over several weeks.