Industries dept makes low-cost hand sanitisers

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (KSDP) under the aegis of the state Industries Department has started making low-cost hand sanitisers for people in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. In the first phase, KSDP is making 1 lakh bottles for Kerala Medical Services Corporation (KMSC), Industries Minister EP Jayarajan said on Friday.

The first load of bottles has been sent to KMSC warehouses in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts. The first load has 500 bottles containing 500 millilitres of the sanitising liquid. The sanitisers are being made as per the standards of the World Health Organisation.

According to him, 2,000 bottles will be manufactured by Saturday. “As many as one lakh bottles will be made within 10 days. In the open market, a 100 ml sanitiser bottle costs between `150 and `200. However, we will sell a 500-ml bottle at Rs 125 only,” Jayarajan said. The government decided to start making sanitisers after there was an extreme shortage in the medical stores and hospitals in the state.

Initially, the sanitisers will be distributed to government hospitals and later it will be supplied to medical shops.