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| SULABH
MOVEMENT RESTORING HUMAN RIGHTS |
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 Dr. Pathak receiving Padma Bhushan from the then President of India |
 His Holiness Pope John Paul-II gave an audience to Padma Bhushan Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak befor bestowing International St. Francis Prize for the Envirinment (Canticle of all Creatures) in 1992 to the latter. |
 Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, inaugurating Sulabh built community centre in Lucknow. |
The Sulabh International Social Service Organisation founded by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak in the year 1970, is the largest nationally and internationally recognised pan-India social service outfit with 60,000 volunteers on the rolls who work to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, health and hygiene, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education, training and awareness campaign. It has developed a scavenging-free two-pit pourflush toilet (Sulabh Shauchalaya); safe and hygienic on-site human waste disposal technology; a new concept of maintenance and construction of pay-&use public toilets, popularly known as Sulabh Complexes with bath, laundry and urinal facilities being used by about ten million people every day and generation of biogas and biofertiliser produced from excreta-based plants, low maintenance waste water treatment plants of medium capacity for institutions and industries. It has set up an English-medium public school in New Delhi and also a network of centres all over the country to train boys and girls from poor families, specially scavengers, so that they can compete in open job market. Sulabh has thus set up a modern, humane social order based on goodwill and mutual cooperation. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements has recognised Sulabh's cost-effective and appropriate sanitation system as a global 'Urban Best Practice' at the Habitat-II conference held at Istanbul (Turkey), in June, 1996. The Economic and Social Council of United Nations has granted Special Consultative Status to Sulabh in recognition of its outstanding service to mankind.
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 Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, Founder, Sulabh Sanitation Movement, explaining Former Prime Minister Mr. H. D. Deve Gowda about Sulabh Model at an exhibition organised to coincide with the national seminar on Housing "Adequate Shelter for All" Oct 7-11, 1996 |
The Sulabh technology has liberated so far 60,000 scavengers from the demeaning practice of physically cleaning and carrying human excreta. Sulabh has set up more than 7,500 pay-&-use community toilet complexes and about 1.2 million Sulabh Shauchalayas in private houses which together are being used by more than ten million people every day. This novel self-sustaining system has also helped in ending the uncivilized practice of open-air defecation and keeping the urban life clean and livable, creating enormous impact on the environment and life of the people, specially those living in squatter colonies, the houseless and the people on the move or those at places of congregation. Sulabh is also producing and using biogas from human excreta from its 118 plants which is again an innovation in the areas of non-conventional energy.
 Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak explaining Sulabh technology to Dr. Wally N'Dow, Secretary General, Habitat II and other delegation |
A combined Sulabh action plan on human waste disposal and social reforms has provided jobs directly to 60,000 people, and has created 10,000,000 (1 crore) mandays, making 240 towns scavenging free. These technologies, innovations and methodologies are sustainable, replicable and affordable and they are recommended by the WHO, World Bank / UNDP etc. for adoption in all Third World countries. While giving shape to its dream projects, Sulabh has established coordination with various national and international agencies, including British Council, USAID, BORDA, a German organisation, Commission of European Union, Belgium, GERES, France, CEEIC, HRIEE, China and Haskoning and Euroconsult, a Dutch firm. Sulabh's is a major initiative towards setting up a clean living environment, making possible a good and productive community life in a new and discrimination-free social order.
The objectives of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation are as follows :
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