As a part of the National Aids Control Organisation’s (NACO) programme, about 3000 condom vending machines will be installed all over the Mumbai city in its various malls, restaurants, cinema halls, hotels, lodges and other places in the coming two months. Tushar Deshmukh, who is the manager of Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust informed on Saturday 31 May that the condoms will be available for Rs five each and that all the condom vending machines will be stationed very strategically so that maximum people can use it.

 

It was further informed by the Additional Municipal Commissioner, Kishore Gajbhiye that the Municipal Corportaion of Greater Mumbai has already bought about one thousand and five hundred condom vending machines for this project. Tushar Deshmukh added that the remaining 1,500 machines will be set up by other non-governmental organizations such as the Mumbai District Aids Control Society.

 

Deshmukh pointed out that it is for the very first time that malls, multiplexes and lodges have been roped in for a project like this. The manager of Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust informed that the idea of installing condom vending machine was inspired by Uganda and that these machines are fully mechanical. To use it, one just needs to turn a knob after inserting Rs Five coin in the machine. The Trust plans to install over 11,000 such machines across the country in the coming months, Deshmukh said.