The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) has decided to create a healthy disposal of sanitary napkins for its students in the girls’ hostel and installed a sanitary napkin vending machine and incinerator.
Around 1,600 students in the girls hostel on the EFLU campus can now buy the napkins from the vending machine by inserting a coin and safely dispose the menstrual waste.
“The machine has been installed following the UGC directive ,” the EFLU Vice-Chancellor, E. Suresh Kumar said. “Ours is the first varsity to install the machine,” he said.
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Healthy lifestyle
The vending machine has the facility to dispense napkins after inserting one rupee, five rupee and ten rupee coins. Prof. Suresh Kumar said the facility will help students to follow a healthy lifestyle as well with the easy availability and disposal of the napkins.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) on June 21 this year sent a letter to the universities to install sanitary napkin incinerators in all women’s hostels as improper disposal may create problems to the environment and also to health of students on the campus.
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The letter said it was also imperative to promote menstrual sanitation and proper disposal of menstrual waste by creating awareness, encouraging every woman to use eco-friendly incinerators and promoting research for a biodegradable alternative as a part of Swachh Bharat Mission.
The UGC letter also said that HLL Lifecare Limited, a PSU under Health Ministry has introduced sanitary napkin-vending machines and incinerators and the expenditure incurred can be directly booked under the solid waste management component of the Swachh Bharat Mission. “The estimated cost for one set of machinery is Rs. 49,646,” the letter said.