Serbian man takes upon himself to ‘clean Gurugram’; initiative earns praise, sparks introspection

A Serbian national has gained popularity after his videos of cleaning Gurugram streets began circulating on social media. While his videos are earning him praise from the netizens, they have also sparked introspection for many, who expressed regret that a “foreigner” is taking such a step for the good of the city.

Lazar Jankovic, a 32-year-old Serbian national staying in Sector 55, is on a “journey to clean India”. He has already kick-started or participated in various ‘clean-up’ movements across the country.

In Gurugram, he has taken it upon himself to clean the Millennium City, known for its big corporate towers, sprawling malls and residential complexes.

Under his ‘Ek din, Ek gully’ (one day, one street) initiative, he is cleaning at least one street, park or area in Gurugram every day and motivating others to take up the responsibility, too.

He started this initiative four days ago and posted as many videos till now. Through his consistent efforts, the Serbian is not just removing litter but also creating awareness about civic responsibility. Residents have begun volunteering, turning a solo initiative into a community-wide movement.

As per one of the videos, he plans to continue the clean-up drive till Independence Day. Most netizens praised the man’s spirit; while some took inspiration from him and pledged to clean their surroundings too, others saw it as a moment for introspection.

In one of the videos shared by ‘4cleanindia’ on Instagram, Jankovic can be seen cleaning garbage outside a building, which looks like a residential property.

“As long as it’s outside my house, it’s not my problem,” he says in the video and cleans up the trash in a minute which according to him was lying there for a month.

The post reads: “This is an attitude of most people in India, and once this changes, changes will happen. Stop pointing fingers and talking about who is to blame, but take action and you will see the difference.”

Gurugram’s cleanliness situation is improving but still faces challenges. While the city has seen a significant jump in its Swachh Survekshan ranking, moving from 140th to 41st in the 2024-25 rankings, this improvement is somewhat overshadowed by ongoing issues with waste management, particularly in source segregation.

The city has a high waste processing rate but struggles with getting residents to separate waste at the source. Piles of garbage can be seen at many places in Gurugram.