Railways To Sell Sanitary Napkins, Condoms At All Stations

In a major development to boost proper sanitation facilities in and around the station premises, the Railway Board will make available condoms and sanitary pads in areas nearby. The authority will now sell these at toilet facilities both inside and outside railway stations. So not only passengers, even people in surrounding areas can avail the facility, according to a new toilet policy recently approved by the Railway Board.

"In order to address these issues, the railways is utilising the station premises to set up facilities having separate toilets for men and women which will be utilised to build awareness for best practices of menstrual hygiene and usage of contraceptives as proposed, the policy claimed, TOI reported.

Read Also: Indian Railways to install CCTVs for women’s safety

"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," it added.

The policy considers the lack of proper sanitation facilities in the neighbourhood of station premises, especially those people who lack hygiene in nearby slums and villages. These people also lack proper toilet facilities and often defecate in the open. They mostly come to the stations for urinating, which leads to unhygienic surroundings. The lack in platforms also results in health-related problems.

Now the policy would facilitate the kiosks -- one inside the station and one outside of the station. They would circulate the kit outside as well as inside the station for even people who are visiting the stations and also those living around them.

READ: Matunga: Mumbai’s First “All-Women” Railway Station Enters Limca Book

It will also have separate toilets for men, women and Divyangjans. "For maintaining the cleanliness of the 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. Reputed NGOs will be engaged to build and operate the toilets (CSR support from corporates) with a maintenance contract," it said, adding that the CSR funds will be used to build these facilities at all 8,500 stations.

Read Also: Indian Railways to launch a safety app for women

Read More Stories By Ria Das