BHADRAK: Thousands of sanitary napkins meant for adolescent girls under the state government’s ‘Khushi’ scheme were found lying scattered on the premises of Banka upper primary school in Bhadrak town.
Heaps of the unused sanitary napkin packets could be seen in classrooms, corridors and even on the roof of the school building reportedly due to lack of organised distribution under the scheme. Launched in 2018 by the previous BJD government, aimed to provide free sanitary napkins to girl students from Classes VI to XII to promote menstrual hygiene and well-being.
A teacher of the school on condition of anonymity said the primary reason for the wastage of the sanitary napkins was its poor quality and lack of awareness among the girl students.
Block education officer of Bhadrak Chakradhar Mallik blamed the Health department for oversupplying the napkins. “More sanitary napkins were delivered than the required numbers. We have informed the Health officials about the issue and they have assured to take steps to dispose of the stock,” Mallik added.
However, chief district medical officer (CDMO) of Bhadrak Dr Sudhanshu Sekhar Bala refuted Mallik’s claim and attributed the situation to improper distribution. “The officials concerned must provide a written explanation for non-distribution of the napkins,” he added.