Of the 3,100 condom vending machines in Mumbai, only 2,400 are functional

Condom vending machines, meant to save lives by promoting safe sex, are increasingly the target of vandalism by miscreants and ignorant customers.

Three years after the machines were installed across the city, the number of dispensers has risen from 250 to 3,100 from Mumbai to Kalyan. However, only 2,400 of these are fully functional.

Frustrated

Rajesh Nainakwal, programme manager of the Hindustan Latex Family Promotion Trust (HLFPT) that maintains the machines, said, "Some machines like those in Kamathipura are taken care of extremely well, as those around are aware of its importance.

However, in places like Kurla railway station, there is a machine on platform 4 that has been broken innumerable times."

Easy and Safe: Inserting a Rs 5 coin into a condom vending machine can get you a two-condom packet.