LUCKNOW: In Uttar Pradesh's far eastern district of Gorakhpur, the municipal authorities have taken a new initiative to combat the coronavirus scare by building a disinfection tunnel, the first of its kind in Uttar Pradesh.
The tunnel, a similar facility already in use in Tamil Nadu and Kashmir, has been
put up at the entrance of Mahewa Mandi, the vegetable market of the city. Those
entering the market will get sanitised within 10 seconds by a spray of disinfectant when they pass through the tunnel.
In countries like Turkey, Russia and China, such a facility is common. A solution
of sodium hypochlorite would be used as the disinfectant to be sprayed on passersby. The facility would come in handy to sanitize the vegetable merchants ahead of entering the mandi.
The tunnel has been placed just beside the office of the secretary of the mandi. It
is fixed with four sprayers and a tank to contain the solution of disinfectant to be showered on those who pass through it.
“Vegetable vendors throng Mahewa Mandi in large numbers. We have installed the
tunnel at its entrance by using our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Fund.
Hopefully, it would go a long way in fighting the coronavirus,” said municipal
commissioner Anjani Kumar Singh.
Spelling out the precautions further, Singh said the entrants would have to sanitize
their hands before getting into the tunnel. The only precaution for entrants would be to close their eyes and mouth before getting into the tunnel. “Even if the droplets of the disinfectant gets into the eyes, thorough washing would help,” said the official.
The requisition for the disinfectant solution, recommended by a panel of five
doctors, has been sent to the authorities concerned. “As soon as we get the approval, we will open the tunnel and make it functional,” said a senior municipal officer.
Gorakhpur municipal authorities are contemplating installing such tunnels in other
parts of the city as well.