Sulabh International founder seeks billionaires` help for funding toilets

Kolkata: Founder of Sulabh International, Bindeshwar Pathak is seeking help from billionaires across the world for funding his ambitious plan for safe and accessible toilets for every household in India.

"We plan to raise USD 2 billion for a new sanitation movement in India. With the help of 690 rich people we will cover all the 690 districts of India," Pathak who has designed `Sulabh` toilets told reporters here. To begin with, Reliance head Mukesh Ambani`s wife Neeta has been contacted to donate to the project. "The next will be Azim Premji of Wipro followed by other billionaires in India and the rest of the world who have been featured on the Forbes list," the `Padma Bhushan` awardee said on the sidelines of a conference on hygiene organised by the Institution of Public Health Engineers. Dr Pathak said there are around 8-9 crore houses in India which still do not have access to a proper toilet at all times of the year. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 53 per cent of the people in India are still defecating in the open. "By constructing toilets we will also give employment to local people and train them on issues related to sanitation and water supply. We will also eliminate manual scavenging," he said. He said that if help was received from the government and the corporate sector the project can be completed in the next 5 years. "So far our model has been self-sustaining and we have never sought funds from outside. But now we want to make toilets in every household and so we need large-scale funding," the social reformer said.