He quit engineering to clean the Ganga, removing 2.47 lakh kg of waste

Seeing garbage, plastic bottles, and dirt on the Ganga ghats of Patna, people often feel sorry. But Bihar’s Subham Kumar decided to turn this regret into action. A civil engineer by profession, Subham left his job in 2018 and started cleaning Patna’s Digha Ganga Ghat. At that time, he did not have a large team with him. Today, his initiative has reached more than 1,100 volunteers.

Through the Being Helper Foundation, Subham Kumar is now working not only on cleanliness but also on plastic waste management, plantation, civic responsibility, and the participation of local communities. Today, he is also a brand ambassador for Namami Gange and BUIDCo Bihar. His story presents a new picture of Bihar, where young people are not only discussing problems but are also creating solutions at the local level.

Left an engineering job and started cleaning the Ganga

Raised in Bihar, Subham had a connection with rivers, public places, and local communities from the beginning. He studied engineering and started working as a civil engineer. After this, he moved to Bengaluru, where he worked in a private company. His career was moving forward. He had a job, his future was secure, and life was also going well. Still, a question slowly began to take place within him.

Is professional success decided only by a good job and a better position? Or does it also mean what we are able to change for the people and places around us?

He found an answer to this question to some extent during a visit to Varanasi. While watching the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, he saw the river connected with culture, faith, tourism, and the local economy. From boatmen to flower sellers and small shops, the livelihoods of a large number of people were connected to the river.

Speaking to YourStory, Subham Kumar, founder and director of the Being Helper Foundation, says:

“After seeing the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi, I understood that a river is not just a stream of water. It is connected to culture, tourism, and the livelihoods of thousands of people. I thought that if the Ganga remains clean and healthy, the benefit will not be only to the environment. It can also create better economic opportunities for communities dependent on the river. When I returned to Patna and saw the condition of the ghats, I felt that I could no longer remain only a spectator.”

People made fun of him, support came from social media

After returning from Varanasi, the condition of Patna’s ghats disturbed Subham. In many places, there were piles of plastic and other waste. At some places, dead animals could also be seen lying around. He felt that instead of only talking about the problem, it was more important for someone to take the first step.

In 2018, he started cleaning Digha Ganga Ghat. On the first day, he did not have a large team with him. There was neither enough money nor the support of any organisation. He reached there alone to pick up the garbage.

For Subham, the real challenge was not picking up the garbage. The challenge was how people would look at this work. Some people questioned him. Some even made fun of him. Even people close to him could not understand why a civil engineer had decided to leave his career and clean the ghats.

But he continued the work. Slowly, friends joined him. Then local people came. Through social media and conversations among people, the initiative continued to grow.

Subham says:

“In the beginning, the biggest problem was not the garbage, but people’s thinking. Many people asked how much one person could ultimately change. I learned that trust is not asked for; it is earned. So we continued working without worrying about people’s reactions. Whether five people came or fifty, we continued reaching the ghat. Slowly, people started seeing the difference, and those who had questioned us later began standing with us.”

1,100 volunteers, 2.47 lakh kg of waste removed

With time, Subham understood that simply picking up garbage would not solve the problem. If the same garbage returned to the ghat the next day, the impact of the cleaning would remain very limited. Therefore, the scope of the initiative was expanded. Work began on waste segregation, plastic collection, recycling, plantation, and civic awareness.

During this process, the Being Helper Foundation became stronger. Today, more than 1,100 volunteers are associated with the organisation. According to the organisation, more than 2.47 lakh kilograms of waste have been removed under its initiative. More than 3 lakh plastic bottles have been collected and sent for recycling. Around 1.40 lakh PET bottles have been reused for different environmental purposes.

More than 45 Bottle Banks have been created in Patna. Through them, more than 11,000 plastic bottles are collected every week. The organisation has also built changing rooms for women at several ghats. Subham says that such facilities are currently available at 12 Ganga ghats.

Subham says:

“For us, impact does not only mean how many kilograms of waste we removed. Real change is visible when people change their behaviour. We saw that if the same plastic returns to the ghat the next day, the cleaning is incomplete. Therefore, we started involving people. Bottle Banks, waste-segregation systems, and awareness are all part of this thinking. Our goal is to make cleanliness not a one-day activity, but an everyday responsibility.”

Saw a new possibility even in waste

There is another special thing about Subham’s initiative. He does not see waste only as a problem. After finding a large number of PET bottles during cleaning, the team started thinking about how some of them could be reused at the local level.

From this thinking, some experiments were carried out involving the use of plastic bottles to protect trees and support plantation. Work was also done on drip-irrigation solutions for better use of water. In addition, special bins were arranged to separately collect worship materials and other waste that could otherwise go into the river.

Building changing rooms for women also came from this ground-level experience. While working at the ghats, the team saw that women did not have a safe and dignified place to change clothes. Subham did not see this merely as a matter of convenience, but as a need connected with dignity.

Subham says:

“We believe that waste does not always have to be treated as waste and abandoned. Many times, there is a possibility of a new use in it. But the purpose of every solution should not be showmanship. We need to develop things that are simple, low-cost, and work at the local level. If an idea solves a real problem of a ghat, school, village, or neighbourhood, only then is it real innovation for me.”

From the Ganga to civic responsibility

The work of the Being Helper Foundation is now not limited only to Patna. The organisation’s activities have reached Bhagalpur, Katihar, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Jehanabad, and other areas. Subham is now looking at a larger stretch of the Ganga. In the coming years, he wants to build a network of local volunteers across major Ganga ghats in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

Along with this, through Mission Civic Sense, emphasis is being placed on developing an understanding of civic responsibility in schools and communities. Subham believes that people should not repeatedly need campaigns for cleanliness. It should become part of their habits.

His thinking also connects the environment with employment. He believes that clean and organised riverbanks can promote tourism. This can create new local opportunities for boatmen, shopkeepers, artisans, women, and young people. By 2030, he wants to contribute to creating one lakh or more dignified employment opportunities connected with environmental conservation and sustainable development.

Subham Kumar says:

“My dream is not only to see the Ganga clean. I want employment to also be created for local people along with river conservation. A clean riverbank can promote tourism and small businesses. In the coming years, we want to build a strong network of local teams and volunteers at major Ganga ghats. My wish is that from Gaumukh to Gangasagar, people become protectors of their river and make environmental responsibility a part of their lives.”

Change begins with oneself

In 2018, when Subham stood alone at Digha Ghat, he had limited resources. But he had made a decision. Today, more than 1,100 volunteers are associated with that decision. What began as a cleaning effort is now becoming part of a larger conversation about civic responsibility, the environment, and local livelihoods.

Perhaps the most important part of Subham’s story is that he did not wait for some big change. He started doing his small share of the work. Then people kept joining him.

For him, the definition of change is also hidden in this. One person can make a beginning, but permanent change comes only when society considers that work its own responsibility. In the end, this story of cleaning the Ganga becomes more a story of human responsibility than of the river itself.