Plogging for a Cleaner India: Tackling India’s Litter Crisis with Ripu Daman Bevli
Have you heard of plogging? It’s a fitness regime that combines jogging with picking up litter, creating a unique blend of exercise and environmentalism. Picture bustling cities with their dynamic sights and sounds but marred by litter. It’s a distressing reality that taints the beauty of our urban landscapes.
In this episode of “Wordly Perceptions,” we welcome Ripu Daman Bevli, renowned as the Plogman of India. Littering is a global environmental crisis, and India is no exception. The Central Pollution Control Board reports that India generates an astonishing 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste daily. Shockingly, 40% of this waste remains uncollected, contaminating streets, waterways, and ecosystems and posing serious risks to wildlife and human health. This issue is particularly acute in middle-income countries like India, where waste management infrastructure often lags behind.
Ripu Daman shares his journey and the inspiration behind eco-fitness and plogging. While reverence for nature is deeply embedded in Indian culture, we’ve lost our path somewhere along the way. Changing the narrative around cleanliness can shift mindsets, leading to cleaner streets and a healthier environment. Our planet is our home, and we must act responsibly for ourselves and future generations.
Tune in to this impactful episode as we explore how collective action, policymaking, and individual efforts can drive meaningful change.
Produced by Global Indian Series for the Global Indian Network.
Script by Rajan Nazran
original idea: Rajan Nazran
Introduction music credit: https://freesound.org/people/TheoJT
About Ripu Daman Bevli
Ripu Daman Bevli, also known as Plogman of India, is an ex-techie turned Socialpreneur, marathoner and environmentalist. He is credited with starting India’s first eco-fitness movement, combining FIT India with Swachh Bharat. For that, the Government of India officially appointed him the Plogging Ambassador of India. The GoI adopted the Litter Free India movement, the first such citizen-led movement, and since then, a crore Indians have participated.
Ripu Daman has organised over 700 cleanups across 110 cities and worked with close to 150 schools and colleges.
Some other Highlights include:
- Unprecedented 50-day 50-city cleanup campaign in 2019. 1000 km cleanup on foot
- Innovations like Trash Workout & Plastic Upvaas
- World record for the longest non-stop Plogging run of 50 km completed in Kota, Rajasthan, in 9 hours 15 mins in 2020
- Ride For Change – Promoting cycling as a means of commuting for zero emissions and zero waste. During this 5-week campaign in 2021, cumulative distance cycled by all participants – 26000 km, Carbon emissions reduced – 7 tonnes, and Litter cleaned from 5 cities – 2 tonnes.
- Week-long RACE campaign with UP govt after the plastic ban in July 2022
- Beach cleanup campaign with TN govt on the World Coastal Cleanup Day in 2022
- Currently working with Municipal Corporation Delhi under the 100 Days to Beat Plastic campaign.
Awards and Recognition:
- Prime Minister Awardee
- Plogging Ambassador of India
- Ambassador – Delhi
- India’s Cultural Ambassador by Ministry of Culture
- First FIT India Ambassador
- Eco Activist of the Year 2020 and 2022
- Earthday Network India Ambassador
- Athlete of the Earth by Earthday Org
- LinkedIn’s Green Voice
- Sony BBC Earth Champion
- Recognitions by NatGeo, Indiatimes, Global Impact Network, etc.
Ripu Daman Bevli has made ‘Cleaning up other people’s litter the coolest thing to do in India’.
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