Guwahati: When Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social entrepreneur in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore, revolutionised the ease of access of affordable sanitary pads across the country, his story inspired a Bollywood film, Padman.
A newspaper article on Muruganantham also inspired Nayan Saikia of Assam. "Some laughed at me when I took a Rs 5 lakh loan and started a unit in my village. Today I do not earn much from my unit and depend on my shop to run the family. But I am happy to see more and more people appreciating our work," Nayan, who still brings raw materials from Muruganantham's company, said.
When Nayan gave up his hotel job in Bangalore in 2005 to produce low-cost sanitary pads for village women, many in Gorihagi, his village in Biswanath Chariali district of Assam, laughed at him and called it a "stupid decision".
After 13 years, Nayan and his wife Bagmita have not only touched lives of women in at least 100 villages in Biswantah, Nagaon, Lakhimpur and Tinsukia districts, but also joined hands with the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) to train women self-help groups to make sanitary pads a livelihood option.
The unit run by the couple at present produces 4,000 sanitary pads daily. "As women self-help-groups play an important role in rural economy, we will not only try to train them how to produce sanitary pads, each costing Rs 3 against the market price of not less than Rs 6, but may also take up as another source of livelihood. Four to five women can set up a production unit in their villages with an initial investment of Rs 3.5 lakh. They can easily earn Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 on a daily basis. I am ready to supply raw materials and provide technical help," Nayan said.
The couple met chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal here recently along with BJP legislator Angoorlata Deka, who demanded in the Assembly that sanitary pads be made available free of cost for adolescent girls and women.
Deka said many women villagers suffer from diseases for unhygienic practices during menstruation. Following Deka's appeal, the state government, in its budget, decided to provide Rs 600 to each woman every year to buy sanitary napkins.
