Rural women in Himachal start using sanitary pads

SALOGRA, Solan: A pilot project, initiated by the rural development department in tandem with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), started manufacturing sanitary pads in this rural panchayat in November last year. The villagers were given seven machines costing Rs 1.35 lakh. They make about 200 packets of five pads every day and sell them under the brand name ‘Swatch’ (clean).
The women working at the unit are educating the females of all the panchayats in their areas to start using the pads for better hygiene and stop using old and dirty clothes.
Diksha, a student from the nearby government secondary school told TOI that she switched over to the sanitary pads. “Earlier teachers did educate and inform us about it, but the high cost and non-availability in nearby shops were the reasons for not using it, but now it is easily available at a very low price and the workers in the unit are all women, we take it from them easily” she claimed.
Babita another student from the same school said that “even the womenfolk in the village started asking us to get the pads”.
Bhagesh Sharma, panchayat secretary of Salogra said that after the pilot project started, machines costing Rs 1.35 crores had also been sent to Peo in Kinnaur district for starting the second unit.
“Eventually it has been decided to set up eight such units in the interior regions of the state, so that there is a complete shift in the hygiene programme of women and later the cost will perhaps also be subsidised to make a pad available for one rupee”, he maintained.