Man Quits Corporate Job to Lead Yamuna River Cleanup with Earth Warriors.

There used to be a man called Pankaj Kumar, who was into corporate affairs. He quit his job and devoted his life to cleaning the Yamuna River. He formed the volunteer group Earth Warriors, which meets every Sunday at Kalindi Kunj Ghat in Delhi to clean waste along the riverbanks.

The Yamuna River is very polluted, particularly the 22 km stretch through Delhi: the segment represents only 2% of the total length of the river, but it is responsible for 80% of the pollution. Here, primary polluters are the drains from which the sewage is discharged untreated; two major drains are Najafgarh and Shahdara. Going by records, in January 2025, the BOD level went to 127 mg/l, well above the permissible limit, downstream of the Shahdara drain. 

What remains to inspire and motivate many is Pankaj Kumar and his team amid all these grim odds. Their efforts range from cleaning the riverbanks as well as believing in larger changes, such as better sewage treatment and cleaner rivers with stricter laws, thereby foregrounding community participation in any environmental effort.

Pankaj Kumar's transformation from a corporate man to a river cleanup promoter skillfully captures how individual actions are linked to larger work toward environmental goals. His story spurs others to volunteer in river cleanups and emphasizes the shared responsibility of addressing the pollution crisis of the Yamuna.