What had started as an occasional exercise has become a daily routine now for 42-year-old Jagdish Negi, a resident of Bhowali town, 15 km west of Nainital town. Negi begins his day with a short walk to Shipra river with a pair of gloves, a net and other equipment for cleaning. He then picks up garbage from the river with the help of residents and disposes it before proceeding for his daily chores. Negi, a contractor by profession, also spreads awareness among the locals about the importance of protecting rivers and proper waste disposal. He earned the title of ‘riverman’ for his continuous efforts to clean rivers, rivulets, canals and other water bodies in the vicinity for the last five years.
It all began in 2015 when he noticed the pitiable state of Shipra river during his morning walkway. The river which flows alongside ‘Kainchi Dham’, 21 km from Nainital town, known for visits of renowned personalities such as Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. His efforts led to a reduction of at least 80 per cent garbage in the river. “During the morning walk, I saw the river was choked with garbage. I immediately decided to clean it,” says Negi, who is into the construction business.
He has participated and initiated number of cleanliness drives for many rivers in the hill state, including river Ganga in Haridwar, Saryu in Bageshwar, Gaula in Haldwani among others.Negi has also spent more than `10 lakh on his cleanliness drive. A graduate from Kumaon University in 1999, Negi struggled saw a tough time early in his life.
He tried a grocery shop, worked as a daily wager, domestic help before settling in the construction business in 2007. In 2016, his brother died by suicide after a loss of `5 crore in the construction business Seeing his passion and enthusiasm, many locals joined him and soon, it became a movement to clean riverbanks. At present, more than 1,000 people are working along with Negi. Now, the group is called ‘Shipra Kalyan Samiti’.
Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Nai village who joined the campaign, says: “I got to know about the work Negi has been doing and decided to contribute join him as a volunteer for the drive.”Negi also goes door-to-door to request people to dispose of garbage in a systematic manner not having a dump in rivers and water bodies.
Taking a cue from the campaign, the state government decided to include the Shipra river in its project to rejuvenate rivers. Having been awarded various prizes, including ‘Jyotirmath Samman’ by Shankracharya Swarupanand Saraswati in 2017, Negi says these recognitions are just acknowledgement of the fact that the rivers need dire attention.