NAGAPATTINAM: Women in coastal villages across Nagapattinam district are in need of sanitary napkins in the aftermath of Gaja. Women in the villages are suffering due to shops being closed after the cyclone and napkins being unavailable. “There are still many who still use cloth for menstruation. The rains damaged our clothes and we are unable to wash them properly due to lack of fresh water. Shops have closed so we have to travel to nearby towns to buy napkins,” M Sathya, a 40-year-old homemaker, told Express.
“Our men cannot travel dozens of kilometres on bicycles to buy essentials. Some shopkeepers have been kind enough to provide napkins from their existing stocks but they soon ran out,” lamented Indra (name changed), a resident of Vizhundhamavadi. Many women in fishing hamlets still use cloth for their menstruation.
If no cloth is available, they tear pieces from their old sarees. “Since we lost most of our clothes in the cyclone, we cannot afford to tear our sarees during menstruation,” said R Gomathi from Kameshwaram. Shops in many coastal villages from Nagapattinam town to Vedaranyam are closed. Due to lack of fuel, most people are unable to travel to other places for procuring basic needs.