Government approves to include feminine essentials in flood relief kit
Keeping in mind the issue of feminine hygiene, Assam State Disaster Management takes a prime decision
01 Jun 2021 11:30pm IST
The rainy season from May to August causes a very devastating situation in the rural and urban areas of Assam. The flood situation causes loss to lives and property.
Last year, a flood in Assam affected over 75 lakh people and killed 103.
In the rural areas, situations become even miserable due to a lack of basic amenities.
To help the people, many NGOs and other organisations come up to provide the flood victims with food and other essentials.
The government, coupled with the Assam State Disaster Management Society, play an imperative role in rescuing and helping people.
During the flood situation, the women or the female section of the society suffer from various unhygienic conditions, which prevails in flood-affected areas of rural Assam.
A petition, named DIGNITY OF FLOOD, was put on a platform that successfully owned over 1 lakh signatures. The petition requested the government to build 50 women-friendly flood shelters in Assam.
While keeping an eye on the issue, it was Mayuri Bhattacharjee, a Tezpur based public health activist, who came up with some rare initiatives.
It was around two years ago when Bhattacharjee started a digital campaign on the plight of women in flood camps.
A petition, named DIGNITY OF FLOOD, was put on a platform that successfully owned over 1 lakh signatures. The petition requested the government to build 50 women-friendly flood shelters in Assam.
Bhattacharjee has been campaigning for the cause since February 2019.
Bhattacharjee even focused on the distribution of sanitary pads keeping in mind the factor of feminine hygiene.
This year, it is for the first time that the Disaster Management department of Assam has decided to include sanitary napkins in the flood relief kit. Earlier, when there was no government intervention, some NGOs and groups distributed sanitary napkins among the ladies in the flood-affected areas.
Even though the Assam Disaster Management Authority opined to include baby food in the list, it is yet to get approval from the State Government.
