Emergency request prompts officials at Narela quarantine facility to stock sanitary napkins

Officials at a quarantine facility in North Delhi’s Narela were caught unprepared by a call from a quarantined person, who asked for sanitary napkins, early Saturday.

Officials at a quarantine facility in North Delhi’s Narela were caught unprepared by a call from a quarantined person, who asked for sanitary napkins, early Saturday.

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The caller had said that sanitary napkins were unavailable in the storehouse of the facility, following which officials rushed to meet the requirement and also order stock for other female residents.

Alok Kumar Mishra, a Delhi government teacher, deployed at the control room in Block A of the facility, said that they were initially unclear about the request as the caller asked for some “napkins”.

“We thought he was asking for napkins that we use to clean our hands. We generally send them tissues and napkins with food. I told the person that it’s too early and we can only arrange it the time of the breakfast. The person then asked us that it’s urgent and they need ladies’ napkins. We could not understand that and he hung up,” he said.

Mishra said that a female civil defence official who was at the call centre suggested him to call back and ask if they need sanitary napkins. “We were not even aware of the fact that the female residents might need sanitary napkins, on the lines of other essential commodities We searched our storeroom and found that we did not have any in our stock,” he said.

The officials then quickly arranged for the same from a nearby medical store. “We also ordered stock to keep in our store. There are 23 women in our block. It’s a lesson for us. We cannot ignore women’s needs at the time of a crisis,” Mishra said.

District magistrate (North) Shinde Deepak Arjun said that the authorities are making all possible efforts to help those in quarantine. There are around 366 people residing in the Narela facility at present.

“We did not know that the lockdown would be extended for this long and hence, a few things were not stocked initially. We are now providing everything the residents are asking for. We have also stocked sanitary napkins now,” he said.

Dr Surbhi Singh of Sachhi Saheli, an NGO, said that the authorities should take care of the menstrual needs of women. “It’s true that, during a crises like this, the first thing was to provide food and shelter to everyone. But now, authorities should also start considering the needs of women. We have also extended support to the district administrations in helping women to cope with the lockdown,” she said.