Sulabh International founder and social activist Bindeshwar Pathak, a pioneer in building public toilets, died on Tuesday at AIIMS Delhi due to a cardiac arrest, according to a close aide.

The 80-year-old was the founder of Sulabh International, an India-based social service organisation which works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, waste management and reforms through education.

The aide said that Pathak hoisted the national flag in the morning on the occasion of Independence Day and collapsed soon after that.

He was rushed to AIIMS Delhi. A source at the hospital said Pathak was declared brought dead at 1.42 pm.

The cause of the death was cardiac arrest, he said.