VIJAYAWADA/VISAKHAPATNAM: To create awareness among the public on the use of face masks in times of the pandemic, Manavata By Friends (MBF), a Hyderabad-based voluntary organisation, in association with The New Indian Express, on Tuesday distributed 1,100 reusable masks to vegetable and fruit vendors in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.
MBF and TNIE distributed the masks to vendors at rythu bazars near Ghantasala Music College in Vijayawada and Alwardas Grounds in Visakhapatnam.
MBF representative Kanduri Kalyana Chakravarthi, Prabhu Mydukuri, Ravi Varma M and Adivi Bala Siva Srikanth said due to the spike in Covid-19 cases, their organisation ordered 10,000 reusable two-layer masks and 2,000 sanitisers, and had been distributing them to the needy.
The MBF team has so far distributed around 5,000 reusable masks and 1,000 sanitisers in Hyderabad, Dammapeta, Enkuru, Khammam, Aswaraopet, Vijayawada, Bhimavaram and Guntur. It also distributed groceries to 120 underprivileged families in containment areas in Bhimavaram of West Godavari district.
The representatives said they would distribute masks and face shields worth `2.5 lakh to Telangana State special police who are working round-the-clock at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.