Taking another step towards girl child education, the State Government has launched a scheme ‘Khushi’ to provide free sanitary pads to 17 lakh girl students in schools across the State. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the free sanitary napkin scheme, Khusi, for girl students from Classes-VI to XII in all the Government and Government-aided schools. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 70 crore annually. “I am happy to announce “Khushi” universal provisioning of free sanitary napkins to all 17 lakh girls in schools,” said the Chief Minister. He too stated that sanitary napkins will be provided in the community at subsidised rates, he added.
Patnaik said this step would go a long way in promoting health and hygiene among school-going adolescent girls leading to higher retention in school and greater empowerment of women. Health Minister Pratap Jena said the Government has also decided to provide the sanitary napkins at subsidised rates to women in rural areas through ASHA workers.
