KV Ramana By

Express News Service

GUNTUR: Tenali, famously known as ‘Andhra Paris’, is now in the news for a different reason. The town in Guntur district is manufacturing personal protection equipment (PPE) kits essential for the doctors and health workers when they engage with Covid-19 patients.

Dr Sarada, a celebrated gynacologist from Tenali, with the support of her husband D Satyanarayana has started manufacturing PPE kits at Sarada Samithi’s Sathya Sai Dispo Needs, incorporated around 20 years ago to supply disposable gowns to doctors and hospitals at minimum profit.

To help those in the forefront of the fight against the novel coronavirus, these disciples of Satya Sai Baba are doing it at absolutely no profits as they, first, do not want to exploit the situation and second, they are viewing it as a public service they are rendering to the nation in troubled times.

Dr Sarada recalled that the Kerala government was the first to place orders for PPE kits for the safety of doctors in the wake of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) more than seven years ago. Dr Sarada said she and her husband interacted with their friends in the United States and took their advice while manufacturing the PPE kits to maintain quality and standard. In general, they receive orders once in six months for a few PPE kits but now the necessity and demand has increased, she said.

She said the Tamil Nadu government placed order for PPE kits more than two months ago. So they started manufacturing PPE kits and changed its design to maintain low cost of Rs 475, while other traders are supplying PPE kits at a cost of Rs 1,500 and more.

She said they are stitching more than 25,000 PPE kits per day by engaging more workers.She said, currently, more than 600 workers are working to manufacture the PPE kits. Workers are provided with face mask, head cap, full body gown and footwear, Dr Sarada said and added that workers are following social distancing norms while manufacturing.

According to official sources the State government has placed an order of two lakh PPE kits, with Dr Sarada, to be supplied to various districts.