NEW DELHI. Akshay Kumar-starrer PadMan , a film that revolves around a man who invented a machine to produce sanitary pads at a low cost, has given confidence to women to open up about the need for sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene in general.Women from Ghaziabad are a step ahead of their contemporaries from other cities in India. A city based women organization called Pinkish Group has started a PadBank with the aim to collect sanitary pads through donations. This bank will make trips to villages and construction sites and provide these pads free of cost to women who can't afford one.Shalini Gupta, the group's national general secretary, told our sister publication Navbharat Times, "We opened only four branches initially and managed to collect more than thousand pads in just two days. We have made a system where a pad donor's information will be uploaded in a website. We request not just women but even men to come forward and donate for this good cause."The bank will have its headquarters in Vasundhara, besides having branches at Crossing Republic, Kavinagar, Orange County (Indirapuram). Women can alternatively collect pads from branches. As per the district branch officer Pallavi Shrivastava, this is first of its kind initiative in Uttar Pradesh.As per Gupta, the group is planning to hold campaigns to create awareness about donations. Post the Pad Bank has sufficient number of pads, it will start issuing pad cards to needy women living around the bank branches.A pad card holding women would be given pads every month. Besides that, they will be educated about the sanitary pad usage and associated health benefits."This initiative is for those who are poor and lack knowledge about menstrual health hazards related to non-usage of pads," said Gupta.Content courtesy: Navbharat Times

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