HLL to Install ‘Vendigo’ in 150 Schools for Govt Programme

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Central Government-owned HLL Lifecare Ltd, partnering with the Thiruvananthapuram District Panchayat, is set to install their sanitary napkin vending machines, Vendigo, and sanitary napkin incinerators, in 150 government and aided schools in Thiruvananthapuram district.
Minister Kadakampally Surendran will inaugurate this project at the Central Stadium in the city on November 22 at 3.00 PM. Education Minister Prof. C Raveendranath, MLA, VS Sivakumar, District Panchayat President VK Madhu, and HLL CMD RP Khandelwal will attend the function.
Designed to benefit school students, these Vendigo machines will dispense napkins round the clock at the touch of a button. A pack of three napkins can be available on inserting coins. The machine dispenses “Happy
Days” sanitary napkins, manufactured by HLL in their Kanagala factory in Belgaum. Napkin incinerators will also be installed in schools for safe and environment friendly disposal of used napkins.
New Vendigo machines, along with incinerators, will be installed at schools in Palode, Nedumangad, Vithura, Neyyatinkara, Kattakada, Venganoor, Maranalloor, Malayinkeezhu, Balaramapuram, Parassala and Aryanadu.
HLL, which is under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has already installed around 200 Vendigo machines at colleges, offices, hospitals, and hostels, including Trivandrum Corporation, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram Central Excise office, AGS Office, PWD offices, Technopark, Kendriya Vidyalaya schools, Cotton Hill Girls School and Holy Angels School, where women work and study. Apart from the capital city, the machine is also installed at around 500 locations in Kerala including the Kochi Naval Base, Kerala High Court, and Kottakal Arya Vaidyashala.
HLL Vending machines and Incinerators are also approved under the Swachh Bharat Urban and Rural programmes of the Central Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation.
“Even though napkins are necessary for the health and hygiene of women, the usage in India is very low compared to many other developing countries. There are still a large number of village women in India who are hesitant to go to shops and buy napkins,” said HLL CMD RP Khandelwal. “We have been implementing many projects for spreading awareness on menstruation hygiene and using quality napkins,” he said.
HLL’s not-for-profit organisation Hindustan Latex Family Planni
ng Promotion Trust (HLFPPT) has been organising sanitary napkin awareness programmes across the country, besides supplying it for the Government of India’s national programme. HLL’s factory at Kanagala produces almost 400 lakh napkins per year.
In addition to Kerala, HLL Vendigo machines are also installed in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and West Bengal.
HLL, which was set up in 1966, is also celebrating its golden jubilee this year, was established for manufacturing condoms but has diversified into various products including blood bags, contraceptive pills, copper T, surgical sutures, test kits, napkins and various other products. Also, HLL’s retailing centers including Hindlabs, HLL Opticals, HLL Pharmacy and Surgicals and Amruth offer diagnostic services.
Besides HLL, the HLL Lifecare group includes HITES, HBL, GAPL, HLFPPT, HMA and Life Spring hospitals.