COIMBATORE: Even though the state government is distributing free sanitary napkins to girls aged between 10 and 19 years in rural and semi-urban pockets under Puthuyugam (new era)a much-lauded schemes of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, launched in 2011the beneficiaries are forced to purchase branded napkins at a higher price because of the difference in quality, a study found.
The study was conducted by the Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP), which works with the state government and is supported by the Indian Institute of Human Settlements, in two town panchayatsPeriyanaickenpalayam and Narasimhanaickenpalayamon the city outskirts.
“The beneficiaries get 20 napkins from anganwadi workers every month under the scheme. But the girls are not using the napkins as the quality is extremely poor. Instead, their mothers use them after attaching a few layers of cloth over them. But it is more like using clothes,” said Niladri Chakraborti, city co-ordinator of TNUSSP.
Improper disposal of sanitary napkins is prevalent in the two panchayats, the study found. “The used napkins are not disposed scientifically. They are burnt in the open or thrown out and end up in landfills,” Chakraborti said. “Many people dispose used napkins along with other domestic wastes. The situation poses a health risk to sanitary workers, who segregate waste with bare hands. Also, the napkins are dumped along with wet wastes at dump yards,” he told TOI.
According to the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rule 1998, objects contaminated with blood and body fluids, including cotton, dressings, soiled plaster casts, lines and bedding, should be treated as bio-medical waste and incinerated or autoclaved to destroy pathogens.
“The panchayats are not following the rules. It is high time to create awareness about safe disposal of sanitary napkins,” Chakraborti added.
A team from TNUSSP is creating awareness about menstrual hygiene in the panchayats. On Monday, it conducted medical camps and offered counselling.
Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated across the world on May 28.