nWomen self-help groups (SHG) in Chhattisgarh have so far produced over 39 lakh face masks and nearly 10,000 litres of hand sanitizer to cater to their increased demand following the coronavirus outbreak, an official said on Tuesday.
Some 7,625 women from 2,165 SHGs associated with the government-run Chhattisgarh State Rural Livelihood Mission are engaged in preparing masks in 27 districts over the last two months, the Mission's Chief Operating Officer Alice Lakra told reporters.
The process started in the last week of March, just after a nationwide lockdown was enforced to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Doctors have urged everyone to put on the masks while stepping out and to repeatedly clean their hands with hand sanitizer. The huge sales have led to their shortages in the open market.
Till Monday, these SHGs had made 39,08,811 masks. Of this, maximum was manufactured in Koriya district (410,290), followed by Rajnandgaon (374,943), Bemetara (350,705) and Gariaband (312,550), Lakra said.
These masks are supplied to the health department, municipal corporation, police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and other government departments, and also being sold in open markets for just Rs 10 to Rs 20 each, she said.
Besides, the masks are being provided to labourers engaged in work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and forest dwellers involved in tendu leave collection, she said.
"Of the total production, 36.37 lakh masks worth Rs 4.52 crore have been sold," Lakra said.
These cloth masks are three-layered as per the World Health Organization (WHO) standard and are washable.
"The production is done on the basis of requirement orders placed by various departments. Besides, we plan to tie up with some leading medical and grocery stores in all districts to ensure easy availability of the masks to the public," Lakra said.
She said 9,964.5 litres of sanitizer have been produced by 44 SHGs in 13 districts. Of this, 7,690.35 litres worth Rs 32.07 lakh have been sold till Monday, she said.