Disinfection tunnels using sodium hypochlorite spray was first set up at Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, but its efficacy and side effects on humans are making people dismantle them.
Anantapur district on Monday set up the first-ever organic disinfection tunnel of the country at Hindupur, which uses extracts of citrus fruits and glycerin.
Penukonda Sub-Collector T. Nishanthi, identifying the problems of sodium hypochlorite, came up with the idea of setting up organic disinfectant tunnel in Hindupur, a town that witnessed eight COVID-19 positive cases. Many areas in the town have been declared red zones. During her efforts to locate contacts of positive people across the border at Gauribidanur in Karnataka, she met Sugaradhana NGO’s promoter Kartick Narayanan, who had been making this organic solution as disinfectant and came forward to put the idea of Ms. Nishanthi into practice.
The organic solution is called CitroBioShield and it has been tested by renowned laboratories and its efficacy has been established, which prompted the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD), Bengaluru, and Brains Hospital to use it as a medium for fumigation, the Sub-Collector told The Hindu.
“We have initially set up at there places, which are most visited even during this lockdown period -- MGM School Ground that has vegetable wholesale market for now, the Out Patient Block of District Hospital, Hindupur, and entrance of Sapthagiri College, which is the quarantine centre for a large number of COVID-19 suspects.