Kheri Chief Development Officer (CDO) Arvind Singh on Monday said PPE kits prepared by self-help groups here will be supplied to an Army hospital in Lucknow.
According to a letter written by the Army hospital to the CDO, the sample kit manufactured under Operation Kavach' by self-help groups met the specific requirement and commandant Brig. N. Ramakrishnan has also approved the sample.
'Operation Kavach' is the name given by CDO Singh to the PPE kit manufacturing programme carried out through self-help groups under the national rural livelihood mission.
Kheri-made PPE kit includes body cover, shoe cover, medical goggles, a mask and gloves, Singh said.
The hospital in Lucknow had approached the CDO for 2,000 PPE kits. The 41 Infantry Brigade Headquarters at Lucknow has also requested for 40 Kheri-made PPE kits.
Moreover, Assistant Commandant of 39th battalion Arvind Kumar has put forth a demand for 30 PPE kits for its team on the India-Nepal border.
The CDO said his team will make all efforts to supply PPE kits to the military and the para military officials, besides serving the needs of Kheri Police, medical and administrative staff.
Soon after the outbreak of COVID-19 and growing demand for personal protection equipment, I felt worried about a wide gap between demand and supply, Singh told PTI.
"The open market could not supply adequate numbers of PPE kits as per demand," he said, adding that the price was also a matter of concern.
Then an idea to manufacture PPE kits at district level through the self-help groups struck me, the CDO said.
Singh said with the help of 28 SHGs at six blocks, some PPE kits were prepared and the sample was sent to the UP Health Department for certification.
"I named this PPE kit project as Operation Kavach'. Our team was left overjoyed when on April 8, the director general of communicable diseases certified the design and quality of the kit, he said.
Later, Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development Ram Bhushan lauded his efforts.
He has extended the capacity of PPE kits from the existing 250 to 500 to fulfill the needs of the medical, civil administration and military staff, the CDO said.
"Operation Kavach which is running on a no-profit-no-loss basis is not only serving the needs of our coronavirus fighters but also adding to the earnings of the self-help group women during the lockdown," he added.
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