The Department of Women and Child Development will sew 10,000 masks with the help of members of women's self-help groups (SHGs) to meet the huge demand for masks to control the spread of Covid-19 in the district.
The district is facing a shortage of masks. Hence, the district administration has come up with the solution of sewing the masks using the cloth. The masks, thus prepared, will be provided to less privileged families and labourers.
The members of women's self-help groups have already started sewing masks at Mahadevapete, Indira Nagar in Madikeri, Suntikoppa and Kadagadalu and around 10,000 masks will be prepared shortly. Volunteers, identified by the department, too, are involved in the work.
Department deputy director T S Arundhathi said that the first phase of the preparation of masks has started. "The masks will be provided to the less privileged people free of cost. People can also buy masks from us. The masks will be provided to the staff and officers of government departments as well. The amount collected from the sale of the masks will, in turn, be utilised to prepare more masks," she added.
She said that the cloth, required to make the masks, is not available in Madikeri and it is being procured from Mysuru. "Women's self-help group members who make the masks will be paid Rs 5 per mask. Members of some organisations have voluntarily come forward to prepare masks for free," she said.
Arundhathi said the district administration has provided Rs 1.50 lakh for the purpose and 30 women workers making the masks.