Chamarajanagara: The District Administration is all set to launch a pilot project of distributing menstrual cups to adolescent girl students on Wednesday July 6. This had been announced by the State Government in its Budget in March.
The State Government identified Border District Chamarajanagara and Coastal District Dakshina Kannada to launch the project on an experimental basis. The State Governments decision came after the Madhya Pradesh Government successfully introduced the project across the State. The project named Maitri Cup will be launched by Health Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar at Biligiranga Hills on Wednesday.
District In-Charge Minister V. Somanna would also participate in the event.
The State Government at present is distributing sanitary pads to 19 lakh girl students across State under the Shuchi programme.
As a continued part of the project, the Government would introduce reusable menstrual cups to students. These reusable cups are made of medical quality silicone, stated a release from the Health Department. The cups have a life of 10 years and can be used up to 8 to 12 hours in a day. These cups are easier, hygienic and more effective than sanitary pads and tampons. All the girl students of Government and Aided Schools aged between 16-18 are beneficiaries of this project.
The Administration has planned to distribute 10,000 cups to students.
A health official said that the disposal of sanitary pads is a huge issue. “They are disposed off as municipal solid waste at the moment. We are planning to provide menstrual cups as a healthy and environment-friendly option, but a lot depends upon awareness and acceptability. The pilot study will help us assess these factors. Disposable sanitary products cause irreversible damage to the environment and end up in landfills. Every year, each beneficiary is provided 12 units containing 10 pads each, free of cost. The Government is spending Rs. 47 Crore annually on their procurement. Awareness about menstrual hygiene has increased among adolescent girls in rural areas since the inception of the Shuchi scheme in 2015-16 for girl students in Government and Government-aided educational institutions.
The Shuchi scheme, started in 2013-14, was initially sponsored by the Centre. However, from 2015-16, the Centre asked states to take over the scheme. The Karnataka Government had come under fire for the non-allocation of funds for Shuchi in its budget for 2020-21.
Image by Anna Shvets
