Sanitary napkins, condoms to be sold at railway stations' toilets
What's the story
In a bid to create awareness about menstrual hygiene and contraception, toilets at Indian railways stations will sell sanitary napkins and condoms. The items will be sold both outside and inside the stations, not only to passengers but also to people living close to them. Here are the details.
The plan
Two facilities, inside and outside, to promote sanitation
As per the policy approved by the Railway Board, each station will soon have two facilities. One of them will be put outside the station premises, in the circulating area. Another will be placed inside for people visiting the station, who can avail the facility free of cost. Each facility will have separate toilets for men, women and Divyangjans.
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What the policy says
"Station premises will be utilized to build awareness for best practices of menstrual hygiene and usage of contraceptives. Each facility will have a small kiosk to sell low-cost sanitary pads for women along with provision of an incinerator, and condoms for men," the policy said.
Details
CSR funds to be used to build facilities
The facilities will be set up at 8,500 railway stations across the country. CSR funds from different companies will be used for setting up the facilities. "For maintaining cleanliness of toilets, three persons -- two sweepers (one male to clean toilets for men and divyangjans and one female for women toilets) and one supervisor -- will be engaged by the agency," the policy stated.