Entrepreneurs in rural belts switch to making face masks amid COVID-19 crisis

Kolkata, May 9 () A number of entrepreneurs basedin rural areas of the country have taken to manufacturing facemasks amid dwindling demand for their regular produce in thewake of the coronavirus pandemic, an official said onSaturday.

Around, 500 rural entrepreneurs have so far producedand sold 3.5 lakh such masks under the Start-up VillageEntrepreneurship Programme (SVEP), he said.

They produce around 2,500 masks per day for healthprofessionals, policemen, media personnel and cleaning staff,the official said.

In West Bengal, 38 entrepreneurs manufacture nearly600 masks a day in blocks of Dinhata, Pathar Pratima andManikchak in different districts of the state.

The entrepreneurs, trained under SVEP -- under theNational Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) -- have sold 49,000masks in the state till date, he said.

Apart from West Bengal, the programme is active in therural belts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha,Jharkhand and Haryana, he added.

The masks are made in hygienic conditions and underthe supervision of district authorities, SVEP-EDII ProjectHead Rajesh Gupta said.

"They have been trained to innovate and adapt to thechanging environment. Their actions in the present scenarioprove that the training has been successful," Gupta said. BSMRBT RBT