After Chest Disease Hospital, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Thursday installed and operationalised decontamination tunnel at Lala Ded Hospital here.
The tunnel was installed at the walkway leading to IPD. Itsprays chemical water to decontaminate every person who goes through it.
“It is a welcome step,” said Medical Superintendent LDHospital Dr Shabir Siddiqui. “The tunnel will reduce the transmission ofinfection.”
Another medico saidevidence from other countries shows these tunnels have played an important andeffective role in decontamination process.
“Such measures are need of the hour,” he said.
The tunnel is an improved version of the one installed atthe CD Hospital. Fitted with noiseless electronic pump, the tunnel makes lessnoise.
Srinagar Mayor Junaid Matoo said four more tunnels were alsoready for installation. “We are going to install two more tunnels on Sunday,one each at SMHS Hospital and SKIMS,” Matoo said.
He said the SMC wascommitted to take all possible measures to combat coronavirus infection.
The SMC is going toinstall around 200 decontamination tunnels across Srinagar in coming days, atpublic places, markets, quarantine homes, and hospitals.
The Mayor lauded theteam of SMC engineers for designing the tunnel. “New Delhi MunicipalCorporation has approached us to help them in designing these tunnels. We havealso been approached by some civic bodies of other states,” he said.
Mattoo said the SMC was the first civic body in entirecountry equipped with latest machines and innovative measures in the fightagainst coronavirus.
In the past two weeks, the SMC has used more than 2.5 lakhliter chemical water for disinfecting more than 60,000 locations in Srinagar.