BHUBANESWAR: After bringing women to the centre of energy policy by providing clean cooking fuel under Ujjwala Yojana, the Petroleum Ministry on Sunday launched Ujjwala Sanitary Napkins initiative to improve female hygiene and health and employability of rural women.
Launching the initiative here, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said 100 manufacturing units will be set up at Common Service Centres (CSCs) covering 93 blocks in the State at an estimated cost of Rs 2.94 crore.
The objective of the mission is to educate women on female hygiene and health, improve accessibility to low cost eco-friendly sanitary pads and boost rural employment and economy. According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS) report, only 33.5 per cent of women of the State have access to proper hygienic methods of protection during menstruation.
The initiative which forms part of the CSR activities of the oil marketing companies (OMCs) is aimed at empowering women through sustainable social and environmental change, Pradhan said.
He said each manufacturing unit will employ 5-6 Ujjwala beneficiaries. Each facility will have the capacity to produce 1200-2000 pads per day and will have a sterilisation room to ensure that the napkins are sterilised before they are packed for use.
The CSCs will be provided with raw material to make 45,000-50,000 pads. These napkins will be priced at Rs 40 per pack containing eight pads. The initiative will not only provide them with a dignified channel to earn their livelihood but also equip them with entrepreneurial skills.
The Ujjwala sanitary pads will be made of virgin wood pulp sheet, non-woven white sheet and a gel sheet which are all biodegradable in nature. The initiative by the IOCL, BPCL and HPCL will help change the way rural Odisha perceives menstrual health, achieving the twin objective of improving women’s health and encouraging basic hygiene practices, said HPCL DGM Dharmendra Behura.
Among others, gynecologist Sanjukta Mohapatra, Ollywood actors Aparajita Mohanty, Maheswata Ray, Pinky Pradhan and Nalco CMD T K Chand also spoke.