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New Delhi: Acknowledging his pioneering work in the field of low cost
sanitation and social uplift, a French economic forum has invited Sulabh Sanitation movement chief mentor Bindeshwar Pathak to share
his experiences with world leaders and business tycoons in Le
Harve Sep 13-14.
"Your personal and professional achievements among which your
staunch dedication to the integration of the untouchables in
India, alongside with your entrepreneurship sense, lead us to
invite you," said Jacques Attali, President of the LH (Le Harve)
Forum that is held in partnership with the French newspaper Le
Monde.
A movie on the Sulabh movement, produced by French film maker
Catherine Berthillier will be screened at meet, which will be
attended by a number of international leaders, including French
President François Hollande and Israeli President Shimon Peres,
besides business leaders from across the globe.
Two liberated scavenger women - Dolly Parvana and Laxmi Nanda -
have also been invited to narrate their stories before the
meeeting. They join other liberated scavengers who have walked the
ramp in New York, visited the United Nations headquarters and
travelled to other countries as well.
Pathak and his team left New Delhi for France on Wednesday.
The Forum will bring together international business leaders, CEOs
from a large number of major global companies, international NGOs,
the best representatives of the academic/research community, the
international political scene and trade unions. They will discuss
the emergence of an economy that would be more virtuous, balanced
and fair placing people at its heart, a Sulabh statement said.
Forum President Attali, while appreciating Pathak's role, said:
"Your work is testimony that you are not only fully part of the
positive and responsible economy, but that you literally already
embody this movement."
"We would hence be extremely honored if you accepted to take part
in the LH Forum event. Indeed, we would be very pleased if you
accepted to present your epic success story at the closing session
of the forum," the letter added.
The Forum also noted that "as a true icon in his country, this
disciple of (Mahatma) Gandhi is one of the first Indians to have
successfully bet on social entrepreneurship and today manages one
of the largest Indian NGOd with more than 60,000 co-workers".
Thanks to the sanitary modernisation which he has undertaken and
which generates $50 million per year, Pathak has liberated more
than one million "untouchables" whose job was to collect human
excrement by hand, the Forum noted.
Pathak is credited with developing a simple twin pit, pour-flush
toilet system used in more than 1.2 million residences and
buildings.
The facilities, which are pay-per-use, offer "an economically
sustainable, ecological, and culturally acceptable solution to
hygiene problems in crowded slum communities and public places".
Waste from these toilets is converted into bio-gas for heating,
cooking, and generating electricity.
The technology has since been recommended by the United Nations
HABITAT and Centre for Human Settlements, as well as the United
Nations Development Programme.
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