By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 2: On Gandhi Jayanti, the Operation Clean-up (OCU), of which the Shubham Charitable Association (SCA), is a partner which has been involved in cleaning rivers since 2019, launched the project “Fresh Pads”, an environment friendly sanitary pad which is washable and reusable. The normal sanitary pad which is the use-and-throw variety often lands up in rivers and pollutes it because there is blood discharge in the throwaway pads.
Pushpa Bajaj, the founder and president of SCA, said, “This sanitary pad is eco-friendly and economical because the pads after being used can be washed, dried and reused. They are made with the best fabric and can last for at least five years.”
Pushpa has already introduced these pads in several villages and the women in those villages have been trained to stitch these pads which can be easily carried by girls/women in their hand bags/school bags.
On Monday, the OCU team met for their usual cleaning drive at Umkaliar where the pads were distributed to girl students present there.
Students from KC Secondary School, Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU) and other women volunteers were given a packet each of the Fresh Pads. They were told to carry the message far and wide and to encourage their fellow students and friends to purchase these reusable sanitary pads. Pushpa says the pads will soon be available in the local pharmacies too.
Named the “Mission Awake”, Shubham as an organisation realised that the discarded sanitary pads are non-biodegradable and as per research, each woman uses at least 5,000 pads in her lifetime. If that number is multiplied by the number of women in Meghalaya alone it adds up to a large number that degrades the nature around us especially the water bodies.
“It is Shubham’s commitment to help nurture and heal the environment by introducing ‘Fresh Pads’ which also creates jobs for those who produce this product locally,” Pushpa said adding that some of the trainees in Shubham have already learnt to make them.
It may be mentioned that OCU comprises the Jiva Cares group led by Jiwat Vaswani, KC Secondary School led by Brian Wahlang, MLCU led by Evan Diengdoh, SCA, Colonel Sishupal Security Company (CSSC), the Shillong Municipal Board and an eclectic group of individuals comprising retired diplomat RV Warjri, some business persons such as Malcolm Najiar (who often lends his JCB to clear the garbage from the river) Constantine Thma, Jasbir Singh, Samborlang Diengdoh, and Malka Dora Thangkhiew, among others.
The group has grown over time and if not cleaning rivers then it is involved in tree plantation in different parts of East Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts.
The OCU team also feels gratified that other groups have also responded to the call for cleaning rivers. On October 1, the staff of Customs & GST Shillong also cleaned up the Umkaliar river.