A pedal-operated system to spray hand sanitiser has been installed at the Andimadam police station in Ariyalur district for use by police personnel. The unit has been designed and supplied by a private firm.
The entire unit has been made of UPVC (Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride) material which is not easily unbreakable. The UPVC pipe at the bottom is connected to the nozzle of the hand sanitiser bottle.
Once the pipe is pressed by foot, the nozzle comes down due to the pressure and the sanitiser gets released. Once the foot is released, the nozzle goes up and blocking the release of the sanitiser. The system completely avoids hand touch of the sanitiser bottle which is kept on top of the low cost unit, says a representative of the firm. Once the bottle gets exhausted, it could be replaced with another one. The station has over five litres of sanitiser stocked for daily use. The police station already has a wash basin kept a few feet away from the building for police personnel and complainants to wash their hands.
It is one of facility provided to police personnel to protect themselves from keeping their hands clean and prevent contracting the virus. In addition, police personnel at the station have been provided with face guards, safety googles, masks and gloves. They have also been given zinc and vitamin tablets besides kabasura kudineer .
The officer said personal distancing of complainants approaching the station was being ensured. Chairs had been provided to the complainants to sit in front of the station building by ensuring safe distance between them and the police personnel.