NORTH LAKHIMPUR, April 19 - As the entire world is finding novel ways to respond to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, some 500 rural women in Lakhimpur district have been working day and night to make face masks � a protection barrier to stop the spread of the deadly disease.
The women entrepreneurs are making �Asomi�, a face mask made of cotton sheets.
The women belonging to 81 gaon panchayats of Lakhimpur district have been working hard since Rongali Bihu in a bid to make 1,62,000 masks in a week.
They are expecting that the �Asomi� masks would replace the imported ones that have flooded the markets.
The Lakhimpur District Rural Development Agency is organising this initiative under the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) during the lockdown period. The DRDA has been distributing the fabric, thread and elastic material to the women with the help of the Lakhimpur district administration. The administration plans to distribute the �Asomi� masks among the poor through the local gaon panchayats.
These 500 women engaged in making masks during the lockdown are silently contributing towards the fight against COVID-19 at a time when 3M 9004IN+ masks are sold at exorbitant prices at chemist shops. The masks are reportedly being sold at Rs 300 per piece at North Lakhimpur, which the common people are finding hard to afford. The �Asomi� masks are washable and considered to be standard ones for use.
