CHENNAI: In a move to ensure that members of the public, especially the less privileged, have access to hand sanitiser, 82-year-old social activist V Santhanam has installed a 1000-litre sanitiser plant at his home in Chrompet and is giving it out to locals free of cost.
Over the last two days, Santhanam said he has distributed sanitiser to over 100 people.
"My son is also a social activist in Dubai and he knows a manufacturing company here which makes sanitiser plants. We thought that would be useful for a lot of people since many are unable to buy sanitiser due to the cost. What was unexpected was when I told the company, Noble Eco Systems, the idea, they installed it in my parking lot free of cost," said Santhanam.
The sanitiser is made through electrolysis using rock salt as the main ingredient. The plant can manufacture 25 litres of sanitiser within 8 hours with 800 grams of salt. This can be mixed with 1000 litres of water for the final product.
"Pallavaram municipality officials pumped 1000 litres of water to my home when I told them the idea. As soon as the sanitiser was made, we saw a great response from people living in tightly packed houses nearby. They said they were facing a lot of issues economically since the lockdown, so they could not afford sanitisers or handwash," said Santhanam.
The 82-year-old added that there is no restriction on the amount of sanitiser people can take away. All they need to do is bring a container to fill the sanitiser in. "I want people to get it from me and then distribute it to others. That is why there is no cap on the quantity. I currently have 500 litres left and will start producing the next batch of sanitisers in a week," said Santhanam.