ALAPPUZHA: Alappuzha municipality’s ‘Thinkal’ project is getting good response .As part of the project, the municipality is giving 5000 menstrual cups free of cost to women in a bid to curb the growing problem of menstrual waste.
Alapppuzha municipal secretary S Jahamgeer said that the municipality that kicked off the project on Saturday is now daily distributing 500 menstrual cups and daily the distribution finishing by mid of the day.
“We have stored 5000 menstrual cups. But daily we are distributing only 500. Otherwise, people will misuse, and even medical store people may come and buy it. We are distributing it from the front office of the municipality and Kudumbashree office at Kaichoondimukku. Any woman can buy it after presenting an ID card and they should register their names in any of these two offices with the phone number. Then they will get menstrual cup of Rs 600. It can be reused for a period of up to five years. The demand for the cup is increasing. So we will daily distribute more than 500 cups,” he said.
“This is the first phase of this project and under this, 5,000 menstrual cups will be given. This project is being executed as a means for the effective waste management system. This one cup can replace as many as 780 sanitary napkins. So through 5,000 cups, we are preventing 39 lakh sanitary napkins which will come as the waste after it use. Under second phase of the project, we will give reusable pads made of clothes,” he said.
This project is being executed by Alappuzha municipality in association with the Hindustan Latex Limited. It is funded under the Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of the Coal India Limited. Finance minister T M Thomas Isaac inaugurated this project.
Alappuzha municipality has already received global attention for its effective waste management system. Alappuzha was among five cities of the world whose projects to end the problem of solid waste have been recognised as success stories by the United Nations environment body UNEP.