A pilot programme to provide menstrual cups to women was launched here on Thursday. Under the project named “Thinkal”, around 1,500 women in the reproductive age group from economically poor households in 12 localities under the Greater Chennai Corporation’s wards in South Chennai will receive menstrual cups in the next three months.
Durga Stalin, wife of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, launched the project and distributed menstrual cups to 15 beneficiaries at a function in the city. The ups are provided by ennVee Solutions, a corporate social responsibility initiative of HLL Lifecare.
The Thinkal project will be implemented by HLL Management Academy, the academic and social development division of HLL. The project was launched in Kerala in 2018 and has since been taken to Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka, said Anitha Thampi, director, technical and operations, HLL Lifecare.
Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan said the civic body had been an incubator for novel schemes, be it polio eradication drive or administration of Hepatitis B vaccine. He explained that the distribution of m-cups should not be considered an expense as during calamities people’s main demand was sanitary napkins.
Mayor R. Priya said: “It is a much-needed requirement for women. It is recyclable and its use has no side effects. As a Mayor, I can tell that the disposal of used napkins is a challenge. We hope that the scheme will spread to other districts as well.”
Veera Venugopal, enVee president, said it was important to have better training that is a key to the success in use and called for support from health agencies to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene. In the U.K. and the U.S., children are educated on hygiene and health, which is needed in India as well.
South Chennai Member of Parliament Thamizhachi Thangapandian, who initiated the programme, said all 32 women councillors in Chennai were roped in for the purpose so that the project could be expanded across the State. At the end of three months, the project would be reviewed, she explained.
“The m-cups will be distributed in Pattinapakkam, Nochikuppam and Srinivasapuram in Mylapore, in Velachery, Thiruvanmiyur, Besant Nagar, and Thiruvalluvar Nagar. In Sholinganallur zone. It will be distributed in Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Chinna Neelankarai, Neelankarai, Vettuvankani, Injambakkam, Akkarai, Panaiyur, Uthandi and Kanathur,” she said.
“A team from HLL had given a two-day orientation about the menstrual cups following which the councillors in the localities had explained to the beneficiaries. For the next three months, the councillors will distribute the cups. Under the scheme, 750 urban and rural women would receive the cups. Once the project is over, we hope to take it to other wards and across the State,” the MP added.
Monsoon preparedness
On the sidelines of the event, Dr. Radhakrishnan said the State government was geared to face monsoon-related diseases. People should remain confident and not worry about fever. “We are doing fever surveillance regularly, particularly in Chennai 300 medical facilities are involved. While we are taking steps to prevent the spread of diseases such as dengue, we have divided 17 lakh houses into sets of 500 houses and 3,300 persons have been deployed. We have sufficient equipment to spray insecticides. People should not take it easy when they have fever for five days. They should be cautious and remain confident,” he said.
