Bindeshwar Pathak passes away: 5 things to know about sanitation pioneer, Sulabh founder

Sulabh International founder and social activist Bindeshwar Pathak, a pioneer in building public toilets, died on Tuesday at AIIMS Delhi due to a cardiac arrest.

The 80-year-old was the founder of Sulabh International, an India-based social service organisation which works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, waste management and reforms through education.

His work has been considered pioneering in social reform, especially in the field of sanitation and hygiene. 

He has also received various national and international awards for his work with this organization.

He developed and implemented a low-cost and appropriate toilet technology popularly known as the Sulabh Shauchalaya system.

In the last 50 years, he has worked tirelessly for the human rights of manual scavengers. His actions aimed at rehabilitating manual scavengers, and providing alternative employment through skill development have received wide praise. Pathak championed the need for toilets in schools.

Sulabh now works across 1,586 towns across 24 states and five Union Territories and engages three million volunteers.

Pathak estimates that the number of converted dry latrines and newly constructed pour-flush toilets stand at 1.6 million nationwide.

State governments, with Central sup-port, have also installed 110 million household Sulabh Shauchalayas in rural areas.