Baripada: Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, many chemists and medical shop owners are selling face masks at exorbitant rates without caring for the plight common citizens are facing. However, there is this man here in this town who is setting an example by stitching masks and distributing it for free.
A resident of the Takatpur area in this town, Rajendra is a tailor by profession. Following the lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Rajendra was forced to down shutters. He stared at economic uncertainty, but that did not dampen his spirit. He chose to serve society instead with his tailoring skills.
Rajendra is aware of the fact that the doctors and police personnel are the most vulnerable to coronavirus as they come in close contact with patients and the public. So he decided that he and his family would make masks for those who serve society.
“The idea to prepare face masks came to me after I saw a video on social media in which people were complaining about the exorbitant rates being charged for masks. Those were being sold for prices ranging between Rs 25 to Rs 50. And due to the man-made created scarcity, the police and doctors who are serving people were not masks. So I decided to put my tailoring skills to use and started making masks. I am giving them for free to doctors, policemen and even common persons,” informed Rajendra.
In the last five days Rajendra and his family have stitched more than 2,000 masks. “We work for eight hours daily,” Rajendra said. “Our target is to stitch 10,000 masks as quickly as we can,” he added.
Initially, Rajendra faced cash crunch to procure raw materials for the masks. However, now SGK Foundation in Bhubaneswar has come forward and is providing him with the items needed to make masks.
Rajendra’s wife Sanjana helps him in stitching the masks while his father Narottam and neighbour Tanushree Pati assist in packing the finished products. He said that the masks he has made so far have been distributed among doctors and police personnel in Khurda, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. SGK Foundation has taken the responsibility of distributing the masks.
In this world when nothing really comes for free and most businesses try to take advantage of every critical situation, Rajendra’s unselfish act will certainly stand out in the years to come.