Jammu: In a bid to spread awareness on benefits of adopting hygienic practices within women folk in Leh, Army in collaboration with Sakhi Suvidha will provide low cost sanitary napkins to women in Ladakh.
General Officer Commanding 14 Corps, inaugurated a low cost sanitary napkin manufacturing plant, at Women Empowerment Centre at Leh, an Defence Spokesman said here.
The initiative has been undertaken by spreading awareness on benefits of adopting hygienic practices and overcome problems of availability and affordability of sanitary napkins to the women in Ladakh, he said.
On the occasion, not only dignitaries from various district civil administration departments were present but also representatives of Women Empowerment NGOs, Nariniketans, Vridhashrams, Nunneries and villages from various places in Ladakh were present, he added.
Among the huge gathering there were more than 170 Ladakhi women attending this inauguration ceremony as part of representatives from various villages of Ladakh, the spokesman said.
The machine has been designed and developed by Arunachalam Muruganantham which won the award for best innovation for the betterment of society in 2006 and an Indian presidential award for innovation.
Muruganantham was accorded the recognition as Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World 2014 for his accomplishments, Spokesman said.
Muruganantham was also present for the ceremony during installation of the plant at Women Empowerment Centre in Leh.
He demonstrated use of the machines to the gathering himself and was applauded for his great invention.
The low cost mini sanitary napkin manufacturing plant, a revolutionary concept among the high cost complicated machines now in use, will be of immense benefit to the women in remote areas of Ladakh, he said.
Sanitary napkins produced from these machines are quite economical as compared to commercially available products in market, the spokesman said.
The spokesman said that the raw cost of making a sanitary pad is less than one third of the most competitive brand.
This will allow the product of Sakhi Suvidha to be available to women in Ladakh at a very affordable price.
Installation of low cost sanitary napkin manufacturing plant at Women Empowerment Centre Leh is a giant leap for the betterment of women of Ladakh, he added.