Rakesh Jaiswal is a well established environmental activist and the founder and executive secretary of Eco Friends, a Kanpur based non-governmental organisation, devoted to the critical issues of environmental degradation. A key issue for Eco Friends is protecting the river Ganga from various sources of pollution. A tireless campaigner for the Ganga, Rakesh has lectured both nationally and internationally to focus attention on the urgent need to act for Ganga. As a freelance journalist, he has written extensively on the issue of river pollution. Rakesh is also the recipient of the Unsung Heroes of Compassion award by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, through Wisdom in Action, a California based Foundation.