As an Environmentalist
He highlighted the acute pollution of river Damodar and launched a Study-cum-Awareness Yatra from its origin points to Kolkata from May 29, 2004 (Ganga Dushehra) to June 05, 2004 (The World Environment Day) to awaken the people of Damodar basin in particular and that of Jharkhand and West Bengal in general against acute pollution of river Damodar. A group of eminent scientists and environmental experts also accompanied the yatra and made scientific study of the problem of pollution at various sites along the river.
He took up the cause of alarming pollution in River Subernarekha and Kharkai caused due to industrial activities. He also conducted a study cum awareness yatra from the origin point of river Subernarekha to its last point in Bahragora block of Jharkhand in year 2006. He also launched an Study-cum-awareness march from Amarkantak, the origin point of River Sone, in Madhya Pradesh to its confluence with River Ganges at the border of Bhojpur and Patna districts in Bihar. The Sone is an Inter-state river passing through 5 states of India namely, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
He started state wide Water Awareness Campaign in 2006 which has now become an annual feature. Every year from the day of Makar Sakranti (January 14) to the Ganga Dusshera (in the month of June) a water awareness campaign carried out in which samples of waters of rivers, ponds as well as sub-surface waters are collected and tested in the environmental laboratory of Yugantar Bharati at Ranchi.
He also launched Save Saranda Campaign to preserve the world famous Saranda Sal Forest area from the menace of unscrupulous mining of Iron and Magnize Ore lying below the surface. He termed the Sal Trees as Green Steel and exhorted that this Green Steel is in no way less important than the Grey Steel in the form of Iron Ore. He also raised the issue of sever pollutions of Rivers - Karo & Koyana flowing through the Saranda region.
Clean Development
Saryu Roy has been raising his voice against the unabated inhuman industrial pollution caused by the public sector undertakings of the state and central Govt as well as the private sector enterprises in Jharkhand since 2004. He tried to form a joint forum of NGO's and social organizations and motivated the Yugantar Bharati lead the campaign against pollution by industrial and economic activities with a view to adopt the methods of clean development. This campaign has started bearing fruits tough partially and large number of people and organizations are joining it. The idea conceived by one person in 2004 has turned into a mass movement by now. His multipronged efforts to improve Air Quality, water quality and to get stopped degradation of natural resources due to various economic activities such as industrial, mining, urbanization etc. are well acknowledged and appreciated.
His efforts to make river damodar clean from acute industrial pollution yielded fruits when the union minister of coal and energy Mr. Piyush Goyal agreed to call a meeting of the heads of all the industrial units, most of them PSUS at his office chamber in Delhi and asked them to submit an action plan to stop their respective units from directly discharging their polluted affluent in river damodar. He also directed them to insure zero discharge into river damodar from their units. He also directed industrial units toprovide him feasible time bound program, preferably not more than three months’ time in this regard and also to provide its copy to him as chairperson of Damodar Bachao Andolan after this almost all the industrial units situated across the bank of river damodar such as power plants of DVC and Tenughat and Bokaro steel etc. became active in this regard.
After their efforts didn’t yield expected results. he again approach Shri Piyush Goyal who called second meetings of the errands industrial units, took stock of developments and issued clear cut instruction to them to implements his order in a time bond manner. Almost all the industrial units now became active and started installing requisite instruments to stoptheir filth from directly pouring in river damodar only Bokaro steel ltd is lagging behind. As a result polluted water of damodar has now became 90% free from industrialpollution and the inhabitants around its bank have started using damodar water for different purpose and rituals.