Varanasi, Oct 12 (IANS): Phil Scanlan, a member of a US delegation in India to assess NGO Sulabh's work, on Monday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swaccha Bharat' initiative, saying it has made India cleaner and hygienic.

Scanlan, the chairman of the New York Global Leaders Dialogue, told IANS that he was very impressed with the work done by the NGO. He also visited the famous Assi Ghat here, whose Sulabh has taken up cleaning and renovation work.

The US delegation also met with Dalit women who were manual scavengers before Sulabh intervened in their lives and changed their profession.

Sulabh Founder Bindeswari Pathak told the media: "Sulabh has constructed nearly 1.3 million household toilets and 54 million government toilets based on an innovative design. Nearly 15 million people use these toilets daily."

"Apart from the construction of toilets, the organisation is also leading a movement to discourage manual scavenging," he added.

"I have been moved by the way Pathak and Sulabh International are changing the lives of millions of Indians. It's highly commendable that his work is not only stopping open defecation in India but is also restoring the dignity of the marginalised and mainstreaming them in society," Scanlan said.