Carnival with a sanitary cause

People enjoy at the special Holi celebration at Kalyani on Thursday. Picture by Tapan Das

SUBHASISH CHAUDHURI, TT, Mar 01, 2018 Kalyani: A social welfare organisation conducted a special Holi celebration at Kalyani in Nadia on Thursday with entry fee for around 1,500 people so that money could be raised to buy three sanitary pad vending machines for schools in the area.

Members of US, based in Calcutta, set aside about Rs 90,000 from the sale of entry passes to buy the machines and make life easier for girls in the schools. While two schools have already been selected, the third would be picked soon, said the organisation.

Music and dance were arranged at the special festival.

Sayak Banerjee, a student of digital marketing at Calcutta University and a founder member of US, said the aim was to create awareness among rural girls and involve people to overcome the taboo around menstruation.

"The taboo is a major issue in the way of striving for menstrual hygiene, which is extremely important, physiologically and psychologically, for girls," said Banerjee.

"So, we appealed to people to join the carnival with a contribution of Rs 100 each. We told them that the proceeds would be used to donate the vending machines. Around 1,500 people came forward."

Guests were offered colours, along with a complimentary plate of jalebi, besides dance and music.

Ghoshpara Saraswati Trust Estate Vidyapith and Janakalyan Vidyapith are the two schools selected for the vending machines which will be installed next week.

US has also taken the responsibility of refilling the machines for a year. The organisation is trying to arrange for pad incinerators for eco-friendly disposal.

"This is not a one-off endeavour.... Our objective is to create awareness among the girls in rural areas, where concept of menstrual hygiene is still very poor and they feel uneasy to talk about it," said Banerjee.

Sripada Mandal, a teacher of Ghoshpara Saraswati Trust Estate Vidyapith, thanked the organisers for the initiative and said such efforts helped fight taboos.

"No girl should have to feel ashamed of menstruation. Such gestures go a long way in normalising it," said Mandal.