People power to clean up Pune river, bit by bit.
- MONGABAY INDIA -
Created for Mongabay India, this editorial illustration accompanies the article, which highlights the inspiring work of Jeevitnadi, a citizen-led initiative dedicated to restoring Pune's rivers through community participation, environmental education, and long-term stewardship. The project explores how collective action can improve urban ecosystems, revive waterways, and reconnect people with nature. Through visual storytelling, the illustration celebrates grassroots conservation efforts and the growing movement for river rejuvenation in India.
Aditi Deodhar, who grew up in Pune, is a Mathematics graduate and worked in the IT industry for a while. While was aware that the rivers in Pune were polluted, she realised the extent of pollution after a programme in sustainability at the Ecological Society of India, Pune, in 2012. During her leisure time, she read and researched to create an informal group of people who were passionate about the cause and wanted to do something to address the pollution in rivers. In 2014, Deodhar along with a group of like-minded people came together with the goal of bridging the gap between humans and polluted rivers and formed the organisation Jeevitnadi aimed at “river rejuvenation through community participation”.
Three years on, efforts have now started showing results. The streams are providing cleaner water to the river, the stench from the rivers has reduced and the perception of locals towards the wetland has also changed, with regular visitors along the stretch.
