In a major initiative aimed at ensuring menstrual hygiene among girl students, the Shiv Sena-ruled Brinhanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday installed sanitary napkin vending machines and incinerators in 165 civic secondary schools across the metropolis.
Mumbai Mayor Snehal Ambekar launched the vending machines and incinerators in the 165 BMC secondary schools at a function here in the presence of Sena’s youth wing president Aditya Thackeray.
“The installation of sanitary napkin vending machines and incinerators will benefit 16,102 girls studying in BMC secondary schools…. The process of installation of these sanitary napkin vending machines will also encourage girls to attend school, look into their health issues, “Aditya tweeted.
Under the girl project, the girl students will be given Rs 5 coins which they can insert into the vending machines and sanitary pads. After using the pads, the girl students can throw the used pads into the incinerators installed at the school. The school will distribute at least 10 coins of the denomination of Rs 5 girl students in a year.
The BMC had in February last year installed one such sanitary pad vending machine for women near Kandivli railway station in north Mumbai. Similarly, it had installed two incinerators in the slums of Mankhurd and Bhandup slums in north-east Mumbai, as a pilot project to clear the clogged drains in community toilets there.
The BMC has invested Rs 1.93 crore on this project involving the installing of sanitary napkin vending machines at its secondary schools across the city.
The ruling Shiv Sena, which has initiated this project, is likely to list this project as one of its achievements in its campaign for the BMC polls to be held in February 2017. If returned to power, the Sena plans to install similar vending machines and incinerators in slums across the city.