'He came, he saw’, and 'cleaned it up': Meet Indian techie who went global with ‘plogging’ campaign

This story answers a simple question: can jogging help save the environment?

It was in 2014, that a young Vivek had moved to Maharashtra’s tech hub Pune for college. As he settled in the city leaving his sleepy town behind, a stark visual reality hit him.
Pune’s rivers were polluted in comparison to the clean water bodies in his hometown. This was enough for Vivek to embark on a journey to save the environment and his efforts started from being individualistic, grew to be local and eventually global.
So, Vivek started cleaning the river front because that was the easiest thing he could do. But the young boy who was just 18 at that time soon realised that the cleaning needed a group effort.

For this he started a special campaign called 'Pune Ploggers.' And it soon showed visible results.

Vivek first used social media to invite like-minded people to jog and pick trash with him. The concept, popularly known as plogging, evolved in Sweden, and Vivek was able to gather young people from all over Pune.

His campaign kept growing and now has 32 chapters across India. As ‘Pune Ploggers’
completed 500 plogging drives in Pune, collecting over 2,000 tonnes of rubbish,

Vivek’s engineering studies took a backseat. He seized the opportunity to study Environmental Policy at The University of Bristol, earning a full scholarship.

In Bristol, Vivek kept plogging and made new friends who joined his cause. Twelve nationalities are part of his group. His hard work paid off when he travelled to 30 cities in the UK in just 30 days.
Vivek’s global campaign gained recognition. He received ‘Points of Light’ award from then British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and was also invited to share his story at 10 Downing Street by Johnson’s successor Rishi Sunak. What sets ‘Pune ploggers’ apart is their refusal to seek or accept financial donations.
Vivek’s goal is simple: he wants people to dedicate their weekends to picking up trash while jogging or walking, contributing to the environment in a tangible way.
Back in India, Vivek’s plogger-family grew bigger, and his work inspired over 20,000 volunteers worldwide.

And ask them about their work; they say where there's a goal, there's always a way.