In the wake of COVID19 outbreak, many voluntary and ‘for profit’ initiatives have taken up the job of making face masks.
Javaid Ahmad Bhat who owns a factory at Rangrath produces5,000 face masks daily. “In view of the present situation, I have startedmaking face masks. We make 5,000 masks per day and average cost per mask is Rs9. We supply in bulk to hospitals,” Bhat said.
“Luckily I have sufficient material available which cansuffice to produce more than ten lakh masks. I am also giving the material tovarious unit holders for the purpose to ease the problem of the generalpublic,” he added.
At the onset of the covid19 in Kashmir, the price of facemasks had suddenly gone up— astonishingly in some cases it had quadrupled withsellers blaming its shortage; though some good spirited people distributedmasks free of cost.
Bashir Nadwi, chairman Athrout, a charitable trust, hadbought 20,000 surgical masks to overcome the crisis. “After their distributionamong various hospitals, we are left with just 4,000 masks,” Nadwi said.
He said they also bought mask-cloth and made around 6,000masks for ordinary people. “We did not collect any money for it; we bought thesupply of our own because our purpose is to serve humanity,” he said.
Interestingly, many people from different places in Kashmirhave taken up the voluntary job of making masks from their homes. Some of themhave shared the design, material and technique involved in preparation ofnormal masks.
However, according to the medical experts, the use ofhomemade masks being prepared by tailors across the valley is “unsafe” and”harmful” to use.