Bindeshwar Pathak, Sulabh International Founder Who Pioneered Public Sanitation, Dies From Cardiac Arrest

Public hygiene pioneer and Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak on Tuesday died in Delhi after a cardiac arrest. He was 80.

Pathak pioneered public sanitation in the country to the extent that public toilets became synonymous with Sulabh, the organisation that he founded in 1970.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled Pathak's death and termed it "a profound loss for our nation". He called Pathak "a visionary who worked extensively for societal progress and empowering the downtrodden". 

Modi tweeted, "Bindeshwar Ji made it his mission to build a cleaner India. He provided monumental support to the Swachh Bharat Mission. During our various conversations, his passion towards Swachhata was always visible. His work will continue to inspire several people. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time. Om Shanti."

For his works, Pathak was conferred India's third-highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the New York City declared April 14 as 'Bindeshwar Pathak Day' in 2016 in recognition of his contributions to public hygiene. 

Pathak founded Sulabh in 1970 with a view to end manual scavenging with inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi who also focussed on cleanliness and hygiene in his lifetime, according to his biography on the Sulabh Toilet Museum's website. 

"Inspired by one of the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi to abolish scavenging, Dr. Pathak founded Sulabh International Social Service Organisation in 1970 and launched a social reform-cum-environmental upgradation movement taking up the challenge of sanitation related pollution leading to environmental degradation and health hazards caused by the practice of open defecation and use of bucket toilets," says the biography. 

Pathak not just created public toilets but also worked towards the upliftment of traditional sanitation workers who had for a long time been treated as untouchables. 

Pathak not only studied the social evil of manual scavenging but also "provided its categorical solution through a low-cost toilet-technology and developed a self-sustaining sanitation system" and in providing alternative to scavenging and rehabilitation and social upgradation of scavengers, says the biography. 

As part of his solution, Pathak developed eco-friendly two-pit, pour-flush compost toilet technology that became an alternative to costly sewerage or septic tank-based systems of excreta disposal. The technology was recommended as Global Best Practice by the United Nations.