Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak passes away
Recently, renowned social reformer and founder of Sulabh International Social Service Organization Bindeshwar Pathak passed away due to a heart attack.
Born in the year 1943, Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak was a resident of village Rampur Baghel in Vaishali district of Bihar.
Efforts towards cleanliness:
- He is credited with bringing the revolutionary Sulabh Complex Public Toilet System to India.
- He contributed significantly in reducing the practice of open defecation and manual scavenging. Mr Pathak was closely associated with his non-profit organization and “kept working till the end”.
- Born and educated in Bihar, Mr. Pathak founded the Sulabh International Social Service Organization in 1970 to introduce public toilet systems in India.
- It works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, waste management and reforms through education.
- In the year 1968, he designed the disposable compost toilet, which could be made from materials found around the house at low cost.
- Over time, he started the Sulabh Movement in 1970, and dedicated his life to eradicating the practice of manual scavenging and spreading awareness on cleanliness.
- Pathak supported sanitation by building over 10,000 public toilets across the country.
Award:
- Pathak was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1991 for social work and later became the ambassador of the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission.
- Received the International St. Francis Award for Environment in the year 1992. In 2009 he received the Stockholm Water Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- The organization was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2016 jointly with Akshaya Patra Foundation.
- Due to the efforts of Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the United Nations recognized 19 November 2013 as World Toilet Day.
Source – The Hindu
