Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar's movie 'Padman', which is based on the life of social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham, left a strong impact on two Chandigarh teenagers. Inspired, the duo decided to start a hygiene campaign - 'spot free' - for girls living in slum areas of the city.
15-year-old Jaanvi Singh and 17-year-old Laavanya Jain are spearheading the making and distributing of hygienic sanitary pads for the underprivileged girls.
The girls initially started the campaign to spread awareness among underprivileged girls about health issues and the use of sanitary napkins during menstruation.
"After watching Padman, we thought we should buy pads and distribute it to women who can not afford it. However, the cost was too much and then we decided to make them ourselves," Jaanvi Singh told ANI.
"Each pad made by us costs Rs 2. I will try to teach the method of making these affordable sanitary pads to the students at my board school," Jaanvi added.
The duo makes packets of 10 sanitary napkins each and packed them in newspaper rolls to avoid use of plastic bags.
The pads are then distributed among the underprivileged girls and women in slum areas.
In March, the government launched a biodegradable sanitary pad 'Suvidha'. The oxo-biodegradable sanitary pads priced at Rs. 2.50 per pad are available at Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi centres. The sanitary pads will be available in packs of four across 3,200 centres and each pack will be priced at Rs 10. The biodegradable pad will ensure 'Swachhta, Swasthya and Suvidha' for the underprivileged women.
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