How a ‘Foreigner’ is teaching India to clean up its streets in Amritsar

A day after Diwali, as major Indian cities grapple with choking smog, the streets are littered with toxic waste from burnt crackers and other debris. While Diwali waste may be a matter of a day or two, the larger issue of street littering in India is persistent—driven by high waste generation, poor public habits, and inadequate waste collection and management systems.

While many conveniently look away, Lazar Jankovic, a Serbian national, along with volunteers from Timeless Amritsar and Pawsitive Sanctuary—both Amritsar-based non-profits—picked up shovels and brooms to clean the streets around the Durgiana Temple periphery. Lazar first came to India on a modelling contract and, eight years later, has found purpose in street-cleaning and civic-responsibility campaigns across Indian cities.

“I’ve been travelling to various cities over the past year to be part of cleaning campaigns. I love this country, and the people are wonderful. So it enrages me to see people treat streets like landfills,” Lazar said.

Joining him were Amita Seth, founder-patron of Pawsitive Sanctuary (now based in Canada), and Adele, a tourist from Canada, who expressed, “Anything to be a part of the change.”

Lazar has been unclogging drains, clearing heaps of garbage, and engaging with locals to encourage participation. “I want you to help me clean your street, your country. Instead of taking pictures and being bystanders, I want people to get their hands dirty,” he said. As for his motives? “I’m not running an NGO or seeking funds. I just want communities here to stop waiting for ‘foreigners’ like me to clean up the mess.”

Amid recent conversations about the lack of civic sense in India, Lazar believes the issue is a collective failure. “In India, there’s always a lot of noise around an issue, but no one wants to act first. Many times, when I talk to people, they say that if they start cleaning garbage, they’ll be seen as belonging to a certain ‘caste’. For a ‘foreigner’, it’s okay to do that though. I find that appalling,” he said.

In Amritsar, however, Lazar was encouraged by the turnout. “I’m grateful to everyone who joined today and helped clean an entire street. But it’s not like this everywhere,” he added, sharing how he once faced hostility in Bengaluru from an auto driver he confronted for littering. “He actually fought with me on the road.” In another incident, Lazar temporarily lost his sense of smell after cleaning a drain choked with rotting garbage.

Lazar shares videos of his campaigns on his social media handle @4cleanindia, which has been gaining traction. “I saw his videos and invited him to Amritsar. He’s doing tremendous work, engaging locals personally,” said Gaurav, a volunteer from Timeless Amritsar.