This Article is From Apr 09, 2020

In Srinagar COVID-19 Fight, 'Jugaad' Road Sprayers, Disinfectant Tunnels

COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir: The boom sprayers - that spray disinfectants on both sides of the road - are now a common sight on the streets of Srinagar.

Jammu and Kashmir Coronavirus Cases: Sanitisation tunnels have been installed in hospitals in Srinagar.

Srinagar:

The engineers and technicians at Srinagar's civic body are using the spirit of 'jugaad' or hacks to equip hospitals and sanitation workers with tools to fight coronavirus in Kashmir.

At the municipal corporation's workshop, workers assembled decontamination tunnels and converted small vehicles into boom sprayers to sanitise roads.

Besides doctors and paramedics, sanitation workers of the civic body are the first respondents of COVID-19 crisis. As soon as a person is tested positive, the civic body teams in Srinagar rush to where the patient lives, seal the neighbourhood and decontaminate the area.

The boom sprayers - that spray disinfectants on both sides of the road - are now a common sight on the streets of Srinagar.

"We are fabricating 100 decontamination and sanitisation tunnels, and installing them in hospitals and public places to contain spread of COVID-19," Srinagar mayor Junaid Mattoo told NDTV.

He said the civic body has been preparing for the last two months to deal with COVID-19 crisis by sourcing chemicals, machines and protective gear for sanitation workers. The mayor said they anticipated the crisis and were prepared.

"We are now getting calls from multiple municipal corporations from different parts of the country for sharing technical know-how," Mr Mattoo said.

The Srinagar civic body has installed decontamination tunnels at hospitals which have been declared as COVID-19 treatment centres. "We want our doctors and paramedics who fight COVID-19 to be protected. Installing these tunnels at hospitals is a shield against the virus," he said.

Costing Rs 20,000 for each installation, the decontamination tunnels are priced well, the authorities say.

"It doesn't take much to fabricate a tunnel. It's cost-effective. I saw these decontamination tunnels being used in Turkey. I discussed with my engineers and came with a prototype," the Srinagar Mayor said.
Srinagar has been under lockdown for the last 19 days, almost a week before the countywide lockdown began. The city's civic body was the first shut schools. The administration followed it up with lockdown orders to prevent spread of coronavirus.

Jammu and Kashmir has reported 109 coronavirus cases and two deaths.

"Kashmir is vulnerable because of the climate and there are a lot of people who return from the Middle East and Europe which makes the challenge greater. It was because of this that we went into lockdown before the rest of the country," Junaid Mattoo said.

World

67,69,14,137Cases
62,55,69,487Active
4,44,61,565Recovered
68,83,085Deaths
Coronavirus has spread to 200 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 67,69,14,137 and 68,83,085 have died; 62,55,69,487 are active cases and 4,44,61,565 have recovered as on July 17, 2023 at 10:18 am.

India

4,49,94,921 43Cases
1,441 9Active
4,44,61,565 34Recovered
5,31,915 0Deaths
In India, there are 4,49,94,921 confirmed cases including 5,31,915 deaths. The number of active cases is 1,441 and 4,44,61,565 have recovered as on July 14, 2023 at 8:00 am.

State & District Details

State Cases Active Recovered Deaths
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