Sanitary napkin vending machines installed at govt schools, women’s jail

Gurvinder Singh

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Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 8

In an initiative to spread awareness awareness about personal hygiene amongst girls and also provides freedom to schoolgirls and female jail inmates from constraints of shyness, hesitation and dependency on others while buying sanitary napkins, low cost-sanitary napkin vending machines were installed in nine girls government schools and women’s jail by the district administration.

Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat and ADC Development Apneet Riyait inaugurated the machines at Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Government Girls Senior Secondary School.

The initiative is a brainchild of the deputy commissioner as it was his priority and told this while he took charge as DC last month. He started this project in Amritsar and has replicated it in Ludhiana.

Each vending machine will dispense three sanitary napkins at cost of Rs 10.

To start with, these vending machines have been installed at nine government girls schools including Government Senior Secondary School, Bharat Nagar; Government Senior Secondary School, Lakkar Bazar; Government Senior Secondary School, Division Number 3; Government Senior Secondary School, Sahnewal; Government Senior Secondary School, Salem Tabri; Government Senior Secondary School, Madhopuri; Government Senior Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar; Government Senior Secondary School, Gill Road and Government Senior Secondary School, Khanna. One machine has also been installed at women’s jail.

These machines have been installed by two private banks under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity.

The machines costs Rs 25,000 each are being installed by HLL company and are sponsored by HDFC bank and DCB bank under their CSR activity.

Speaking on the occasion, Riyat said it has been observed that sometimes girls are hesitant to approach anyone for sanitary napkins. This initiative would go a long way in helping way.

Get educated, don’t sit at home, says DC

While addressing girls on the International Women’s Day, DC Bhagat said though the contribution of mothers who have been working tirelessly in homes in invaluable, yet girls must gain the best of education, and they must get out of the boundaries of home to become good professionals and entrepreneurs. Their respect and importance in society would increase as they become more economic viable for the family and society. There was a time when there was a bias against women in management sector, but it is heartening to see that the top honchos heading most of the banks these days are women, he added.