Sulabh founder to get Nikkel Asia Prize

New Delhi: Sanitation pioneer and founder of Sulabh International Dr Bindeshwar Pathak has been selected for Japan's most prestigious Nikkel Asia Prize, a statement said on Monday.

Pathak has been considered for the prize under "Culture and Community" section. The prize will be awarded on June 13 in Tokyo.

In an announcement made on Monday morning in Tokyo by the Nikkei Asia Prize Secretariat, he has been described as an Indian social reformer tackling two of his country's biggest challenges -- poor hygiene and discrimination, said a statement from Sulabh International.

Pathak founded an NGO in 1970 that has built Sulabh flush composting toilets throughout India, contributing to better sanitation, safety for rural women and freedom from the manual labor of removing human waste.