RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh police in Raigarh district turned the festival of Raksha Bandhan as memorable through a successful mega campaign aimed at generating public awareness on use of face mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The drive saw over 14 lakh masks distributed among the residents across the district within six hours.
The initiative led by the Raigarh district police chief Santosh Kumar Singh created a record. The ‘Golden Book of World Record’ assessed the figure of 12.37 lakh distributed among masses by the police personnel as record, as counting continued on Monday.
"Our team and the volunteers were overwhelmed with an impressive response given by the people of Raigarh who enthusiastically made the campaign — Ek Rakshasutra Mask Ka, (One safety string of mask) as spectacular success. The Golden Book of World Record has certified the drive as having created a world record by the Raigarh police. With the numbers continue to pour in, other agencies engaged with the record certification are also monitoring," Singh, the Raigarh superintendent of police told The New Indian Express.
The district witnessed a spike in coronavirus cases during the previous one month.
The campaign ran for 6 hours from 9 am. As per one estimation over 14.87 lakh masks were distributed till 3 pm for the needy people and among the masses, the SP added.
Various agencies and organisations collaborated with the Raigarh police force in the campaign and contributed by donating the masks.
By Sunday evening, over 12 lakh masks were acquired through the public support and different organisations were sent to dispatch centre — every police thana and chowkies for its distribution before the start of festive campaigning with Raksha Bandhan message and awareness drive.
As many as 115 vehicles, 362 organisations and over 7500 volunteers participated canvassing for the awareness. The campaign also received overwhelming praise from abroad on various social media platform.