Meet Ellis Spaanderman: The Dutch Woman Cleaning Up Srinagar’s Dal Lake — Alone and Determined - video Dailymotion

Oneindia

Dutch environment enthusiast Ellis Spaanderman, 69, has taken it upon herself to clean Srinagar’s iconic Dal Lake—by hand. Her quiet, solo mission has gone viral, inspiring locals to join her fight against plastic pollution. Known fondly as the “Mother of Dal,” Ellis rejects praise, saying she’s simply cleaning what she loves. A cyclist and long-time Kashmir resident, Ellis now hopes to raise awareness, encouraging collective responsibility to protect Kashmir’s natural beauty—one plastic bottle at a time.    #EllisSpaanderman #DalLake #KashmirCleanup #EnvironmentHero #PlasticPollution #SoloMission #Srinagar #EcoWarrior #DutchInKashmir #LakeLove #CleanIndia #SustainableLiving #MotherOfDal #KashmirDiaries #GreenWarrior #ViralHero #WomenForNature #DalLakeCleanup #EcoCyclist #InspiringStories #ForeignersInIndia #ActForNature #EnvironmentalAwareness #ClimateAction #NatureLovers #IndianEnvironment #ZeroWasteIndia #KashmirNature #GreenMission #TogetherForEarth  Also Read  Earthquake In Jammu And Kashmir: Tremors of 3.6 Magnitude Shake Valley :: https://www.oneindia.com/india/earthquake-in-jammu-and-kashmir-tremors-of-3-6-magnitude-shake-valley-7785987.html?ref=DMDesc  Katra To Srinagar In Just 3 Hours: PM Modi To Flag Off Vande Bharat Express :: https://www.oneindia.com/india/katra-to-srinagar-in-just-3-hours-pm-modi-to-flag-off-vande-bharat-express-4173159.html?ref=DMDesc  Rajnath Singh Visits Srinagar, To Review Security Situation In J&K :: https://www.oneindia.com/india/rajnath-singh-visits-srinagar-to-review-security-situation-in-j-k-4153823.html?ref=DMDesc    ~HT.318~ED.103~GR.125~

Transcript

00:00I don't care about the environment. I want it to be clean and the thing is, there is so much rubbish here. I cannot do it alone.

00:30There is one. There is one.

00:36There is also a big deal because of the light.

00:40You can see the layer of the light.

00:43You don't want to see it, but it's right on there.

00:47So then also you can see the light.

00:55You know, you can just take it.

01:00What motivated you to start cleaning and removing plastic waste from dal?

01:22I think I only did it in Netherlands also because I was living there at the seaside.

01:29And in general, Netherlands is clean.

01:33But ships throw waste overboard.

01:37So even then already I started collecting sometimes plastics on the beach.

01:43So it's kind of, it's in my nature.

01:47In a way, when I see it, I can't avoid cleaning up.

01:53And actually I started in Darchigam.

01:56Because Darchigam, there's not that much plastic.

02:00Only little.

02:01And I could see, you know, now I leave, it's fully clean.

02:05And, but then, you know, I had my boat since November last year.

02:16And I see all this rubbish also in the lake.

02:21And I thought, I'm gonna do it.

02:23And maybe it's only a drop in an ocean.

02:26What I do.

02:27Because from there, it goes through the water, the waves.

02:31And, you know, collecting this from the water is much more difficult than collecting this from the land.

02:38And, you know, it's a paper cup.

02:47This is also cool too, because of the nature.

02:50It's a very similar of plastic.

02:53And, you know, if you don't even see it, but it's microplastic.

02:58I am convinced that if everyone will help me, the whole of Kashmir can be cleaned within two years.

03:10I really trust in that.

03:12I believe in that.

03:13You know, so many Kashmiris say, oh, but it will take 1000 years.

03:18No, you can teach within a generation.

03:23So.

03:25Do you think you alone can do this?

03:29Me alone?

03:30Yeah.

03:31I cannot do it alone.

03:32I need the help of all the Kashmiris.

03:35Not one.

03:36All of them.

03:47There's one.

03:48There's one.

03:49There's one.

03:50Have an old.

03:53There's often footmentation because of the timetian.

03:57You can see a layer of plastic and you don't even see it, but it's microplastic.

04:04So then also real urban plastic.

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Meet Ellis Spaanderman: The Dutch Woman Cleaning Up Srinagar’s Dal Lake — Alone and Determined

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