Eco Friends, a Kanpur based non-governmental organisation (NGO), has been working in a sustained way over the last fifteen years on critical issues of environmental degradation. A key issue for Eco Friends is protecting the river Ganga from various sources of pollution. Eco Friends has been involved in generating mass awareness and deepening of national and international public debate on pollution-related issues, mobilizing the local communities in sustained high-pitched campaigns, focused action such as clean Ganga campaigns, legal activism through public interest litigation and persistent advocacy with media, opinion makers and other stakeholders. Though the extent of environment degradation is still worrying, Eco Friends has due achievements in a number of areas including passing of landmark judicial pronouncements to check river pollution and initiation of remedial steps by industry and government alike. The concern at the moment is to consolidate and build on the gains with a long-term perspective on the larger issue of environmental management in India.