Once considered a taboo topic to discuss in public, the way Indians now think about menstruation has seen a paradigm shift in recent years. The National Family Health Survey reveals that close to 50 per cent of women in the 15-24 age group still use cloth for menstrual protection. It is a health risk if an uncleaned cloth is reused as it could lead to several infections.
But there is a group of warriors fighting this menace. There is a quiet revolution going on among biotechnology students of BIET, Davanagere, who are producing sanitary napkins using areca husks.
Dr NS Manjunath, head of biotechnology department and a graduate in MSc inmicrobiology from Kalaburagi University, is the man behind this innovation. He has been taking up research in this field which has prompted his students to take up the challenge of producing napkins and diapers from biodegradable raw material.
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