Aarti Arora

Sulabh International Social Service Organisation

Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, a non-profit voluntary social organisation founded in 1970 by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, is dedicated to Gandhian ideology of emancipation of scavengers. Sulabh has been working for the removal of untouchability and social discrimination against scavengers, a section of Indian society condemned to clean and carry human excreta manually. Sulabh is noted for achieving success in the field of cost-effective sanitation, liberation of scavengers, social transformation of society, prevention of environmental pollution and development of non-conventional sources of energy. Environmental friendly two-pit, pour-flush compost toilet known as Sulabh Shauchalaya that is socially acceptable, economically affordable, technologically appropriate and does not require scavengers to clean the pits and implemented in more than 1.2 million houses all over India that has helped liberate over a million scavengers. Construction and maintenance of public toilets at public places and in slums on ‘pay & use basis' is a landmark of Sulabh in the field of sanitation. So far it has constructed and is or maintaining over 8000 such public toilets in India and has constructed 200 biogas plants all over the country. Production of biogas from public toilets and recycling and reuse of effluent through simple and convenient method is the major breakthrough in the field of sanitation and community health.