In view of the latest ‘MaskOn’ advisory by the State government, mask production by self help groups across the State may be scaled up.
Government might consider taking a policy decision to distribute stitched cloth masks to general public at affordable prices, considering their scarcity in medical shops, officials say.
As of now, cloth masks are being stitched by self help groups across the State, for distribution to frontline staff such as sanitation workers, garbage collectors and policemen.
The work is being coordinated by the respective Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) upon instructions from the Municipal Administration and Urban Development department.
As on Friday, the SHGs have kept a total of 3.95 lakh double-layered cloth masks ready for use mainly by sanitation workers. A total of 492 SHGs have been involved in their production.
Twenty SHGs of Khammam district are far ahead in the production, by readying close to a lakh masks, while 27 SHGs from Karimnagar produced the next highest at over 35,000 masks.
As per standing instructions from the Director of Municipal Administration N. Satyanarayana, the masks should be procured by the 139 municipalities and municipal corporations other than GHMC, at prices between ₹10 and ₹14.
GHMC, through its Urban Community Development (UCD) wing, has undertaken to produce a total of 60,000 masks, for distribution among its sanitation workers and garbage collectors.
While masks were purchased and distributed earlier to the sanitation workers, they were not conducive to their work in the hot climate, officials say.
The new masks stitched with cotton cloth will be comfortable and heat/sweat absorbent. They will be distributed to over 20,000 sanitation workers, and 2,500 garbage collectors across the GHMC area.
In view of the lockdown, GHMC has coordinated with cloth merchants to facilitate purchase of required material, for mass production.
“Each sanitation worker will be given two masks, and two each will be given to the SAT (Swachh Auto Tipper) vehicle driver and helper,” an official explained.
About 200 SHGs have been on the job since April 8, and able to stitch 20,000 masks up to Friday.
Within two more days, the target of 60,000 masks will be achieved, officials said. Priced at ₹12 each, the masks are reusable after wash, and effective.
