Chhendipada: In wake of scarcity of masks in the market amid coronavirus outbreak, several self-help groups (SHG) operating under Odisha Livelihood Mission in Angul district have chipped in to manufacture the essential commodity.
Led by the president of a local SHG Subhadra Gadnayak, 17 members of this group in Chhendipada block have started manufacturing affordable masks in large quantities.
Financed by UCO Bank, these workers are now using easily available cotton clothes and other materials to produce masks which could be reused several times.
They are selling these masks at various places including medicine stores, the district commissioner’s office, Mission Shakti office and the Integrated Child Development Project offices.
Each mask is sold at Rs 20 per piece. The workers claimed that many of them joined this mission to help the public at this critical time. They have sold more than 20,000 masks over the past week.
“Cleanliness is important when it comes to making masks,” Gadnayak said. She added that orders are pouring in from Chhendipada, Kishornagar and Kaniha localities to make masks.