Inderjit Sidhu retired as the DIG of Punjab Police in 1996. Three decades later, he’s cleans up his neighbourhood in Chandigarh’s Sector 49. Ex-IPS officer Inderjit Singh Sidhu continues with public service years after retirement, and in a way that many may judge as an odd choice. He has picked up the broom to keep the streets of Chandigarh, protecting its tag of ‘City Beautiful’.
At 88 years of age, he has been chosen as one of the 45 Padma Shri awardees in the “unsung heroes” category ahead of the 2026 Republic Day. Sidhu retired as a deputy inspector general (DIG) in the Punjab Police in 1996. Three decades later, his daily self-assigned duties include cleaning up his neighbourhood in Chandigarh’s Sector 49. He gets out every morning at 6 to collect litter from the streets.
Living in the IAS-IPS Officers’ Cooperative Society, he says he repeatedly complained to civic authorities, but no action was taken. “So I decided to do it myself. There is no shame in cleaning. Cleanliness is next to godliness,” he told last year.
The 1964-batch IPS officer started using a bag or even an abandoned rickshaw to gather waste and dispose of it properly. While it began as a solo effort, with some initially calling him “crazy”, it has slowly turned into a neighbourhood movement. Sidhu’s family and fellow residents now support him in his work.
According to Sidhu, the ‘City Beautiful’ should aim to take the number one spot in the Swachh Bharat Sarvekshan. “If you visit foreign countries, their streets are spotless. Why can’t ours be the same?” he said. Sidhu doesn’t think he is making a significant contribution to society through his cleaning, but he affirmed that it brings him deep satisfaction.
“I like a clean place, so I clean. I’ll keep doing it as long as I can,” he told. Inderjit Singh Sidhu went viral on social media last year and even got praised by several celebrities, including industrialist Anand Mahindra. “He says he wasn’t happy with the ‘low rank’ Chandigarh got in the Swachh Survekshan listing. But instead of complaining, he chooses action… a quiet, persistent belief in a better world… Purpose doesn’t retire. Service doesn’t age,” the Mahindra Group Chairman wrote on X.
