PadMan’s dream comes true: Bhopal railway station sets up sanitary pad dispenser

Bhopal railway station is all set to become a trendsetter in India! Welcoming 2018 on a positive note, the Railway Women Welfare Association of Bhopal has installed a sanitary napkin vending machine at Platform number 1 which has been named ‘Happy Nari’.
Praising the initiative taken by Bhopal Railway Station, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar tweeted on his social media platform, "Now that's some good news in 2018. Definitely need more of these across the country".

This amazing step was taken keeping in mind the convenience and needs of women commuters. Bhopal Junction has become first in the country to come up with such a brilliant idea and is all set to provide pocket-friendly sanitary pads. Two pads will cost just INR 5, which is quite a small amount. The machine will accept INR 5 coins and trained female staff will keep a tab and refill the machine accordingly.
A railway official was quoted saying “We will make sure that it is well maintained. The railways will also advertise it so that female passengers are aware about the facility and can make optimum use of it”.

The vending machine that was installed at INR 20,000 only at the station has a capacity of 75 sanitary pads. As per reports, the vending machine installation has received exceptional response. A local NGO catering to women needs has provided more than 500 napkins on the first day, and in within a very short period of time, around 600 pads were taken from the machine.


Appreciating the move taken for women's health, Bhopal’s Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Shobhan said, “The vending machine is a very noble effort taken to ease the travelling experience for women. Considering the minimal price of the napkins even the lower sections of the society can use them.”

This social issue is already creating a lot of wave across the country with Akshay Kumar’s upcoming movie PadMan, which will hit the theatres on 26th January. The story is based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a Tamil Nadu-based social activist who created stir in the society by introducing low-cost sanitary pads machine.