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Profile of a National Crusader
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak is a great humanist and social reformer of contemporary India. To the weaker sections of society especially, his is the compassionate face of a paternal redeemer. He has the vision of a philosopher and the undying zeal of a missionary. Inspired by one of the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi to abolish scavenging and based on the bedrock of technology, Dr. Pathak, founded Sulabh International Social Service Organisation in 1970 in Bihar and launched a social reform-cum-environmental upgradation movement, taking up the challenge of the problem of sanitation related pollution, which led to environmental degradation and health hazards, caused by the practice of open defecation and use of bucket toilets for centuries in India. In search of a solution, after much research, Dr. Pathak developed the eco-friendly, twin-pit, compost, pour-flush toilet technology for individual households, known as Sulabh Shauchalayas as an alternative to the cost prohibitive sewerage or septic tank based systems of excreta disposal. As compared to these, the Sulabh technology is appropriate, affordable, indigenous and culturally acceptable. It has on-site human waste disposal facility; dispenses with installation of a vent pipe and requires hardly 2 litres of water for flushing, helping improve the environment and leading to economy in water use, thus, conservating water. More than a million bucket toilets have been constructed/converted into Sulabh Shauchalayas, liberating nearly 1,20,000 scavengers (those who clean dry toilets and carry human excreta as headload for its further disposal) from the sub-human occupation and rehabilitating them in different vocations with their human rights and dignity restored. Their wards were imparted quality education and vocational training to bring them into the mainstream of society. This technology was declared as one of the Global Best Practices by UN-HABITAT/UNCHS (United Nations Centre for Human Settlements) in 1996 and awarded by UN-HABITAT and Dubai Municipality ‘The Dubai International Award for Best Practice’. It was recognized and approved by various national and international agencies such as WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, UNDP, etc. The UNDP Human Development Reports of 2003 and 2006 also recommended its use for the 2.6 billion people in the world, especially in developing countries, who have no access to basic sanitation. Over 7,000 public toilet-cum-bath complexes are maintained on pay-and-use basis in India by Sulabh which has proved a boon for people without toilets in their homes, such as in slums and at bus stops, railway stations, market places, etc. A technology for complete recycling and reuse of human excreta from public toilets was also developed. Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion of human excreta in a biogas digester, and is used for cooking, lighting, electricity generation, etc. Five public toilets with biogas facilities were constructed in Kabul, Afghanistan and handed over to the Kabul Municipality for maintenance. Biogas plant effluent is treated by a simple method to make it colourless, odourless and pathogen-free, making it quite safe for irrigation or discharge into rivers or any water body. The biogas plants can be installed at and serve housing colonies and high-rise buildings and areas not served by sewers. These facilities are used by 10.5 million people daily in India and have made a marked difference in the environment, both in urban and rural areas. This recycling of human waste on-site has prevented green-house effect caused by open defecation, which is widely prevalent in India as nearly 70% of Indians resort to defecation in the open. Thus, practices of environmental protection and conservation, compatible with sustainable development have been successfully implemented by Sulabh under the able leadership and guidance of Dr. Pathak who has ingeniously utilized technologies and expertise to enrich and empower the depressed classes, especially women, who form the majority of scavengers, improve community health and hygiene and the environment. The above technologies developed by him can be replicated worldwide and help towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal on water and sanitation. Dr. Pathak has received many awards and been conferred various honours. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1991, the International Saint Francis Prize for the Environment ‘Canticle of All Creatures’ in 1992, the Global 500 Roll of Honour by UNEP and the Scroll of Honour by UN-HABITAT in 2003, etc. bindeshwarpathak@sulabhinternational.org
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