Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu: Mask vending machines installed in Tuticorin

TUTICORIN: The Tuticorin Corporation has installed two mask vending machines in the coastal city to make masks available for the public at ease and at a nominal price.
Masks have been made mandatory at many public places to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, considering the demand-supply gap and high costs of masks, they are out of reach for many.
The vending machines have been installed in front of the corporation main office and at Amma canteen in Rajaji Park.
Corporation commissioner V P Jeyaseelan said, “We bought three machines from a Coimbatore-based manufacturer, who manufactures sanitary napkin vending machines. The mask vending machines operate in a similar manner. We conducted a trial run by installing one at the corporation office for a week and a few hundred masks have been successfully disbursed.”
He said the corporation had purchased triple layer masks at Rs 6 per piece and was offering them at a subsidised price of Rs 5.
“The public can insert a Rs 5 coin into the machine and get a mask. Each machine, priced at Rs 22,500, can hold 120 masks. There is no cap on the number of pieces per person. There is a system to replenish the machines,” he said. A self-help group has been entrusted with the task of packing each mask and loading it into the vending machine.
The civic body has a stock of 50,000 masks.
The masks with a standard certificate by the South India Textile Research Association in Coimbatore were initially purchased from Tirupur and are now being procured from a local manufacturer in Tuticorin district.
“We will be procuring more masks and installing more such vending machines based on the response,” Jeyaseelan added.