“Sakhi–Stree Swabhiman”, a sanitary napkin brand under Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) on Friday was launched at a programme at Guijan in Tinsukia district of upper Assam.
The Sanitary Napkin Production Unit is managed by Patkai Cluster Level Federation at Jugipather village, Dimoruguri village Panchayat, Guijan Development Block in Tinsukia.
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It consists of 16 village organizations and 275 numbers of Self Help Groups (AHG), 2760 women SHG members from 19 revenue villages under Dimoruguri and Baruhola village panchayat.
At present, the unit consist of five committee members, five full time workers and 16 VOs as distributor. A total of 26 women SHG members will be directly or indirectly engaged in the unit.
The unit has the capacity to produce 2000 pads per day and 50000 pads per month. The retail cost price of one packet is Rs. 25 and whole sale price is Rs.20.
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“To popularize and sensitize the use of sanitary napkins amongst the rural women and girls and also women living in low income in urban/sub urban and underprivileged areas including tea gardens and to establish and start preparation of cost effective/low cost sanitary napkins in scientific way for better health and hygiene amongst females and to prevent cervical cancer amongst the female masses, we have launched this product,” said Kamala Kanta Gowala, district project manager, ASRLM.
According to the DPM, Sanitisation through use of low cost sanitary napkins during menstrual period amongst the rural women, adolescence girl and women living in underprivileged areas of urban/sub-urban areas including girls and women living in tea garden areas is the first and foremost priority of this project.
“The project vision is to provide low cost sanitary napkin to every woman in the districts of Assam. ASRLM in its first phase of this project is to set up low cost sanitary napkin production unit at Guijan Development Block in Tinsukia district. The unit is to be run by women. It will generate employment amongst the women conducting training programmes for manufacturing of napkins. Strong network of SHGs will be involved in the manufacture of napkins as well as marketing from first phase itself. In the second phase the finished product is to be promoted to each and every corner of rural Assam conducting awareness programme so that rural women can avail low cost sanitary napkin in a hygienic way,” Gowala said.
Chabua MLA Binod Hazarika, Nandita Hazarika, State Mission Director (SMD) Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ASRLM), Guwahati and Pallab Goswami, Project Manager, Livelihoods and Marketing, ASRLM, head office were present at the programme.