Vellore ramps up measures in entire district

The Corporation officials started spraying disinfectant in all private and commercial establishments in all 60 wards to ensure total coverage of both domestic and commercial buildings.

Vellore Corporation sanitary inspector Siva Kumar said “three sprayers of 1.5 litres, 5 litres and 10 litres capacities have been provided for each of the corporation’s 60 wards to ensure total coverage.”

Asked about staff availability, he said in addition to local staff, “those who were earlier used for anti-dengue coverage have been pressed into service and hence there is no staff shortage”.

Complaints surfaced of face masks and sanitisers being sold for high rates by medical shops, which played safe by selling them only to known customers. “Masks were sold for as much as Rs 40 per piece and when we remonstrate, the shop keeper tells us to move on,” said an irate resident of Sathuvachary.

To offset this, the district administration has ramped up plans to manufacture face masks and sanitisers by self-help groups. According to Ruban Austin, assistant project officer (APO) Mahalir Thittam “40 SHGs (self-help groups) in Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupattur districts have started making three-layer face masks which will be sold to the public from Saturday at Rs 12 per piece as against the open market rate of Rs 30.”

Stating that it was planned to manufacture 10,000 pieces per day, he said “masks would also be supplied to all government medical units including PHCs at Rs 10 a piece.Similarly, efforts were also to manufacture 10,000 bottles of sanitiser each of 200 ml capacity which would also be available from Saturday in the department’s Poomalai complex. “They would be priced at Rs 125 a bottle as against the market price of Rs 200 and even more,” Austin said. Seven Vellore SHGs would manufacture them, he added.

However, public have doubts as to how long a mask could be used and how it should be maintained when not in use. “These points are yet to be clarified by health officials,” said a local resident Banumathy.

Ranipet Collector S Divyadarshini inspected manufacture of face masks by SHG group members at Perumpulipakkam in Nemili taluk while her Vellore counterpart A Shanmuga Sundaram did the same in Vellore district.

Corona wards are also opened in the government hospitals at Ambur, Vaniyambadi and Tirupattur in Tirupattur district and in the Arakkonam and Wallajahpet government hospitals in Ranipet district, officials said.