To prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading to rural areas in Karnataka, a disinfection tunnel has been installed in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market in Hubli.
The tunnel, which was set up on Sunday, March 5, sanitises those entering the market by spraying a small percentage of Sodium hypochlorite solution on them so as to restrict the transmission of COVID-19.
How does the tunnel work
Speaking about one of its kind initiatives, Jagdish Shettar, Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries, Karnataka, said that the tunnel has been particularly put in place for the farmers, vegetable vendors coming in and going out of the APMC market.
The tunnel, build with the help of Young India.org, is currently said to be in the trial stage and the authorities will add more of such devices in public places if the one in the APMC market is received well.
Karnataka: Disinfection tunnel installed at entrance of Agricultural produce market committee (APMC) market in Hubli. The tunnel, installed with help of 'Young Indian' org,sprays people with small percentage of Sodium hypochlorite solution through nozzles before they enter market pic.twitter.com/8vn2uZs5hT
— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2020
Explaining how the tunnel functions, Srinivas Joshi, a representative of Young India.org, told news agency ANI, "We have added 1.8 per cent of Sodium hypochlorite solution in 100 litres of water. It is pumped through high-pressure pumps and sprayed like a mist via nozzles for 3-5 seconds which is very less time to cause any kind of allergy."
However, he warned that people who are allergic to chemicals should avoid getting into the tunnel. A signboard will soon be placed regarding the same. The cost of a single tunnel comes around to be between Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, as per VSV Prasad, President of Confederation of Indian Industry Hubli.
Karnataka coronavirus update
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 151 in Karnataka. Out of the total positive cases, 12 patients have recovered while 4 have lost their lives. A total of 5,543 people have been tested for the novel coronavirus in the state so far.
The Karnataka health department is preparing in advance to tackle the possible large-scale spread of COVID-19. The top officials of the state have decided to rope in volunteers for crowd management, food management and mobility if the outbreak worsens in the coming days.
