Dear Carol,

I’m simply delighted to see your post. Though, I keep seeing your name, it is probably for the first time that I get to know more about you. It is a pleasant surprise for me to learn that you worked in Pakistan from 1991 to 1996. That is simply great. And, you seem to know more about the things here than I do. You know Zafar Abbas as well. I will try to write one for WWD, but time is very tight – I don’t know.

The Compendium is also my favourite book. It is a great book, in that, it is a useful book for beginners in the sanitation field, and is equally good for experienced people, for whom it is a useful reference book.
I still use this book.

Sanitation is still rather poor here. I think the main reason is that, it has low priority in the agenda of decision makers here. I fully agree with you when you say: keep speaking out. That is a great recipe and, I, on my part, am trying to sensitize the people.

I’m attaching an article that I came across only yesterday. It is titled “Sanitation is independence.” It is from India. Almost 90 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi said, “Sanitation is more important than independence.”

Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate. It is great to know you!

Thank you and kind regards,

F H Mughal

Mughal,

Congratulations on being recognized for your ongoing contributions to the Forum. It's a pleasure to finally meet you and to learn of your role in designing the Karachi WWTP.

My favorite photo is the one of you holding my favorite book: The Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies. Every week I refer to it at least once and probably refer three other people to it. Here in the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Seattle, Vancouver) we are addressing two challenges. First, we need far more public toilets and for unhoused people we are looking at a variety of options. Second, we need to prepare for a devastating Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake that will destroy pipes and WWTPs and put everyone at risk unless we plan for emergency sanitation ahead of time.

I lived in Pakistan from 1991-1996 and worked with KZR, now Riz Consulting. The people of your city were most welcoming when I had jobs there. I did some work in community development and public health (HIV/AIDS and diarrhea) but found so little support for sanitation. Of course this was true everywhere at the time. Now as the sanitation challenges are better defined and we have an idea of how to much ROI investments in sanitation bring, WE NEED TO SPEAK OUT AND KEEP SPEAKING OUT. Please keep doing it!

I also enjoyed the picture of you at home reading The Dawn. Wonderful paper. I know the editor Zaffar Abbas from his time with BBC based in Islamabad. Since World Water Day is around the corner why don't you write an opinion piece (an op ed) and send it to him? Here's his email. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. You are lucky to have a free press that reaches millions.

Best wishes. I look forward to hearing more from you.

Carol

Dear Dan,

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, I too have enjoyed my communications with you.
It is nice to get good information from an expert like you.

Thanks and best wishes,

F H Mughal

Dear Mughal:

Congratulations on your selection as forum user of the month. I have enjoyed our correspondence and your suggestions and I admire your efforts to keep up with the WASH literature along with your many other responsibilities.

Best regards,
Dan Campbell

Dear Krischan,

Thank you for sharing your views. I'm pleasantly surprise to read that you lived in Pakistan for one year. So, you must be familiar with the sanitation scenario here to a fairly large extent.

Thanks for the polio link. I appreciate

Best wishes,

F H Mughal

Dear Chris,

Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate.

Mughal is pronounced as Mu – ghal. As regards the channels’ cleaning, please note that labour is relatively cheap in Pakistan, and for that matter, in Bangladesh and India. The sweepers, who clean the channels, belong to a lower caste. This caste group works in sanitation sector – cleaning sewers, pit latrines and channels. If I get a picture, I will send to the forum.

I have not seen constructed wetlands here. In Karachi, in early 60s, trickling filters were constructed. In late 1980s, these were modified to primary treatment only. Later on, anaerobic ponds were constructed. In Islamabad, there is a activated sludge wastewater treatment plant.

Here, sanitation has very low priority. This is unfortunate. Not enough people are coming up in this field.

In a separate thread of this forum, this point was raised. Some friends suggested linking sanitation to health. Polio is a problem here, as you have read in newspapers. I would appreciate, if some friends can shows specific pathways of how poor sanitation leads to polio.

Best regards,

F H Mughal

Hi Mughal,

Thank you for this very interesting and important interview. Congratulations on your achievements and good luck on meeting your goals.

How is Mughal pronounced?

The system you describe of channels that get swept daily sounds horrible. Is there a photo of this on the internet? Who does the sweeping? Is this a full-time job? Wouldn't they prefer to instead clean and maintain nice UDDTs? Maybe if the city were to lend these people somewhere to farm, they would build UDDTs for everyone and teach them how to use them.

Are Constructed Wetlands being built in Pakistan?

Are there enough Pakistanis following in your footsteps and learning from you? If not, how could this be encouraged?

(These interviews are very useful and I agree with Florian that they could be called simply "featured interviews". I suggest that these may not solely constitute recognition of achievement on the Forum, but could even include new members with great potential.)

Best wishes,
Chris Canaday

And here comes Part 2 of our interview with our recognised forum user Mughal:

++++++++++++++
Part 2: Mughal’s opinions about the forum

What is making you write on the forum and what do you expect by making posts? How have you benefited yourself from using the forum?

While I write to disseminate whatever little knowledge I possess, the major benefit I get from the forum, is gaining knowledge disseminated by other colleagues. It is great to see so many useful comments and expert guidance on the forum.


Do your colleagues or people in your network also use the forum?

No, I don’t think so.


What don’t you like about the forum or about other forum users?

A few months ago (December 2013), in one of the posts, the language used was not quite nice. That made me very sad. I wish the users may abide by the netiquette, developed by Dr. Kerstin Danert, Director, Rural Water Supply Network, and circulated by me, in one of my posts (see here: forum.susana.org/forum/categories/135-qu...ette-netiquette#6843).


If you could change something about the forum, what would it be?

The name – Sustainable Sanitation Alliance; and the acronym – SuSanA
In addition, since sanitation is due to the use of water, the title/name should reflect this – e.g., water and sanitation, with stress on hygiene.


What is your advice to the forum moderators?

If you find a post that is not nice, as far as the language is concerned, please do not upload or publish it and, say it boldly that it was withheld due to use of inappropriate language.


Which topics or categories on the forum do you feel most passionate about?

Wastewater treatment and, adaptation to climate change. I think climate change adaptation is, perhaps, not in the list.

+++++++++++++++++

Thanks a lot, Mughal, for taking the time to answer our questions, and congratulations on this award which you truly deserve! It's nice to have met you via the forum.

Does anyone have any questions or comments for Mughal? Have any of his posts had an impact on you or made you think differently about certain topics?


[posted by Elisabeth von Muench on behalf of the SuSanA secretariat]

The following are a series of interview-type questions that Mughal kindly took the time to answer for us:

+++++++++++++++
Part 1: About Mughal as a person and Mughal’s work

You sign your posts with FH Mughal. How should we address you?

Mughal is my surname (family name; last name). F stands for Fareed (first); H stands for Hussain (middle name). Fareed Hussain Mughal, my name in my passport, is too big to write. Besides, people address me by my surname; so I write F H Mughal. So please call me Mughal.


You registered with SuSanA already on 8 Apr 2009 which is two years before the forum started (you have user number 204 so that’s really early considering that we now have over 3000 members). What made you register then? And how did you find your way to the forum in 2011?

I was looking for some platform, where I can learn and, share my own knowledge. I was, and am, somewhat active on the internet. I get emails and newsletters from many institutions and, I think, it was through some knowledge-based link that I got in the forum.


What is your nationality and where are you living right now?

I was born and educated in Hyderabad, Pakistan. I’m living in Karachi for the last 40 years.


Where and what did you study, and why?

I did my Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) – B.E. (Civil) from the University of Sindh, Hyderabad, in 1969. I cleared the Provincial Civil Service examination, Hyderabad, in 1972. I earned my Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering (majoring in Water and Wastewater Engineering) from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok in 1975.
I love education; and educating myself. I’m still interested in learning. I love to attend conferences and seminars. I have over 0.1 million publications in the hard disk of my computer.


What were your main employers, work locations or career milestones?

My main employer happens to be the only one, and that was the Karachi Development Authority (KDA). I worked in Karachi all along. It was in 1982 that the chief of KDA asked me to come up with an appropriate municipal wastewater treatment plant that is consistent with the situation prevailing back then; and that was: labour is cheap and, knowledge level of the operators of the wastewater treatment plants is low. I proposed, designed and constructed 22,700 cubic meters per day treatment capacity aerated lagoons wastewater treatment plant. I even got the cage rotors, used for aeration, manufactured locally. My project was an all out success and, I’m proud of it. I’m the only one in Pakistan, who has designed the plant without any foreign assistance.


What would you recommend to youngsters who want to get involved in development work – how should they go about it?

I would recommend three simple things. First, armed yourself with the highest degree in your field. Second, work honestly and do not adopt any short-cuts, as they, in the long run, never work and at times, backfire. Third, to borrow the title of song of the country and western singer, Ned Miller: Do What You Do, Do Well.


What do you see as the biggest threats and the biggest opportunities for Pakistan’s future? (in terms of sanitation and public health or in general)

The biggest threats are the poor WASH interventions. This is creating tremendous adverse impacts. Drinking water quality is poor, sanitation is hopeless and hygiene practices are nowhere to be found. This is causing stunting, malnutrition and girls’ drop-out from schools, as there are no separate toilet facilities for girls in schools. Biggest opportunities for Pakistan are: safe water and sanitation for all, with a focus on hygiene.


What can you tell us about the sanitation situation in the city or location that you live in now, and (if applicable) in the city or location where you grew up?

My family belongs to Shikarpur, a small town of about 500,000 population. I was educated in Hyderabad, a major town of about 4 million souls. Currently, I live in Karachi, a mega-city.

Sanitation in Shikarpur is poor. Toilets consist of channel-shaped squatting structures. Every morning around 10, sweeper would come and clean the toilets of feces. If someone uses the toilet after the sweeper has done the job, the feces would remain there for almost 24 hours, till the arrival of the sweeper, the next morning. Sewerage system is of open-channel type. Clogging simply brings the contents on the road.

In Hyderabad, in old parts of the city, same system, described above is practiced. In these areas, sometimes, the sewage ends up in depressions or vacant lands, creating a pathetic sight. In new areas, we have the flush system – much better and clean - but the catch here is that if the sewer pipes get clogged – which happens quite often, the sewage overflows from the manholes. Manholes are broken, solid waste – another poor story - quite often ends up in the manholes. Rainy season makes the matter worse.

Karachi situation is also, more or less, similar to that of Hyderabad.


How resiliant are the sanitation facilities in Pakistan to climate change?

No, there is no consideration for resiliency to climate change, at the moment. People here are not yet sensitized to resiliency. Help from international donor agencies (ADB, WB, JICA), and major institutions (UNEP, WHO, ESCAP) is needed to sensitize the government, decision-makers and development planners on the aspect of resiliency and adaptation to climate change.

If a major sea level rise were to hit Karachi today, the anaerobic and maturation ponds, built about 15 years back at the coast, would be completed flooded.


What three things would you take to a remote island? Or what are the three “things” that are really important for you in practical terms?

I have never been to a remote island, as simply, there isn’t any here!!!!!!!
Three important things for me are: offering prayers regularly (being a Muslim); exercise daily; and my family.


What books or magazines can be found on your bedside table?

None, as I have too many publications that I have to read on WASH and climate change.


What are your hobbies?

My hobbies: I watch wrestling on TV regularly – WWE’s RAW and Smack Down!!

++++++++++++++++++

Three photos which Mughal chose and that are connected to his work are provided below.

Part 2 of the interview (Mughal's views about the SuSanA discussion forum) will be posted in two days from now.

Regards,
Elisabeth

[posted by Elisabeth von Muench on behalf of the SuSanA secretariat]

Dear all,

The discussion on the "User of the month" title is not yet completed, and a new name is still being hotly debated (keep on thinking about different options and please have your say here so that we can reach a conclusion later this month: forum.susana.org/forum/categories/10-by-...m-user-of-the-month-).

Regardless of the title of this award, today I have the pleasure of announcing the fourth forum contributor to be rewarded for his outstanding contributions to the forum in this manner (previously recognised contributors were Florian Klingel, Doreen Mbalo and Kris Makowka, see here: forum.susana.org/forum/categories/10-by-...tariat-or-core-group).

Today we are giving special recognition to:

FH Mughal from Karachi, Pakistan (called simply: Mughal)

for his helpful and interesting posts on the forum.

Here is a link to his forum profile (visible only for logged-in users): forum.susana.org/forum/profile/userid-204

I have asked Mughal to send us some photos of himself at work or during leisure time.
Here you see Mughal as he is making posts on the forum:



Here he is in front of his large library:



And here he is relaxing in his home:



(he told me that the security situation in Karachi is very bad and that he therefore prefers not to take photos outside: “When you get time, just glance over the newspaper Dawn (www.dawn.com), and you will understand, what I mean.”)

Mughal is working in a relatively difficult environment, and yet always writes very helpful, polite and friendly posts. I say it is a difficult environment because being (semi-)retired he is pretty much on his own without the support of a team and colleagues (there are also not so many other active forum members from Pakistan); his access to information is restricted for example by the fact that Youtube is banned in Pakistan and that the available bandwidth is quite low so that he cannot attend live webinars.

Nevertheless, Mughal has decided to share his accumulated knowledge and experiences with the next generation(s) and is often the first to make a reply when newcomers ask their first questions on the forum. He shows a keen interest in the work of budding PhD students and is always trying to help people by providing them with appropriate papers and documents from his huge collection spanning several decades. He offers these documents regularly as reference materials to the people asking for information.

A typical example of his support for PhD thesis research was this post here: forum.susana.org/forum/categories/67-san...n-slum-in-haiti#4167
Where he wrote:

That was a nice update of your site visit and your Ph.D goals. The objectives of your Ph.D research seem very interesting and, when completed, will have long-term beneficial implications for urban slums and the rural areas. What is the topic of your doctoral dissertation, by the way?

The problems of urban slums in Karachi, Pakistan, are more or less, same as that of Port au Prince, you described. Land mafia is there. Water and sanitation status is not up to the mark. Drinking water quality is poor. Sanitation comprised of improvised toilets. They are unhygienic and breed insects. Hygiene aspect is nowhere to be found.
[…]
Thank you for your nice and interesting comments. You seems to have collected a fairly good volume of information. That is great!

I'm attracted by the title of your Ph.D topic and, your research concept of mitigation flooding, sanitation and water supply problems in an integrated manner. I think, your Ph.D research is going to have a wide and beneficial implications in many countries, including Pakistan. I'll be anxiously looking forward to your dissertation and, please don't forget to email me a copy, when it is done.

Mughal has a wide range of interests and writes about diverse topics such as wastewater treatment ponds, anaerobic systems, behavior change, nutrition, public attitudes, CLTS, microfinance and micro-credits, resiliency, local construction materials... He also reminds us of special requirements for - or attitudes of - Muslims with regards to sanitation.

Recently, a topic that he started on "Public attitudes to sanitation" received many replies:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/71-beh...es-toward-sanitation

And some weeks ago, it was Mughal who initiated a discussion on microfinance which resulted in extensive sharing of experiences:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/55-wg-...etc-water-for-people

And finally the statistics for Mughal’s activities on the forum (forum.susana.org/forum/categories/userlist): Mughal has made 184 posts (putting him in 5th place in terms of posts made), he has received 52 likes (5th place) and 8 Karma points (7th place).

I am sure you will all agree with me when I say that Mughal is well deserving of this public recognition! On behalf of the entire forum community I thank him very much for all his high-quality posts and hope there will be many more to come!

In two further posts which I will make very soon I will provide you with an interview with Mughal.

You are very welcome at any time to congratulate him here in this thread or to ask questions about him as a person.

Elisabeth

[Posted by Elisabeth von Muench on behalf of the secretariat]