Surge in demand turns mask making into new trend of service in TamilNadu

The tailor-turned social worker, K Prakash, has not fixed a rate for it. He uses leftover cloth, which got accumulated during his business before lockdown, to make multi-colour reusable face masks.

Prakash, who is able to make up to 200 masks per day with his assistants when the demand was at the peak, said that he let the customers decide the price.

“The demand peaked when the government made it mandatory. There are many who cannot afford reusable masks. That is why I am making reusable masks and selling them at an affordable cost,” he said.

Prakash, who opens his shop by around 10 am and closes exactly by 1 pm as per the guidelines, said that his service to the people keeps him busy and also earn a few bucks for the upkeep of his family. “I will continue doing this till the shutdown is lifted,” he said.

Pitching in with their effort in the battle against the pandemic, differently-abled homeless women at a Chennai Corporation shelter in Nungambakkam are making masks for sanitary workers using materials provided by the Corporation.

More than 10 women have volunteered for the task, making at least 300 masks every day. The idea came about after they went to buy masks and found that shops were running out of stock.

“That is when we thought of making and distributing them to the sanitary workers. After learning to make the mask in a day, we are now making them using single and double cloth according to the order we receive,” said Metilda Funceca, a wheelchair basketball player and inmate of the shelter.

After learning about this, they were approached by NGOs and corporate firms, who are charged based on the type of mask they order.

“We give it free for the government frontline workers while we are charging others. The cost of the masks depends on the kind they want. For NGOs we charge Rs 15 per mask, and for corporate companies it is sold at Rs 20 per mask depending on the number of pieces. The money we get through this will be distributed among the women in the shelter,” said Dr Aishwarya Rao, director of the shelter.

Garment makers of Puthiyamputhur village in Thoothukudi district have switched over to face mask production to suit the growing needs of people. Puthiyamputhur is traditionally known for garment making.

According to ASA Selvakumar, a garment manufacturer from Puthiyamputhur, 10,000 masks are being made daily in three categories -- prices ranging from Rs 5.50, Rs 6.50 and Rs 7.50. It would not keep tailors, who are normally busy making garments, idle and also help sustain their livelihoods. The fabric for the productio is being procured from Madurai and Tirupur, he said.

D Bala Vinoth, another garment maker from the village, said around one lakh masks are being made a day for pharmaceutical distributors across Tamil Nadu. Since garment making is a cottage industry in Puthiyamputhur, cut pieces of fabric were given to tailors to finish the product.