Agri Business

Coonoor couple develops anti-virus mask

Coonoor | Updated on May 26, 2020 Published on May 26, 2020

PS Sundar

A mask developed by a Coonoor-based couple is claimed to be a boon to the tea industry.

“The mask can be worn safely not only by the employeesin field, factory or office but also by medical staff in the estate hospitals and clinics. It will be safe even against chemicals when workers spray in the field,” L Vairavan, Secretary, Nilgiri Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers’ Association, told Business Line.

“We have created a high-voltage firewall which can capture and kill all viruses, including Coronavirus, and the air inhaled through the active filter mask fitted onto a respirator,” claimed Ramakrishna Pillay, who along with his wife developed the mask.

Pillay holds an M Tech degree in electrical engineering from IIT, Delhi, and is a retired Colonel of Indian Army. He subsequently headed projects at Qualcom telecom company in the US, which supplied products to MTNL, Delhi, and then became a professor of computer science and electronics in Canada.

His wife Kanakalatha Rudrakoti is an engineer in electronics and communication and Project Manager of Agni missile at Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad.

“We have approached the Government of India for acceptance of this new mask as a device to keep people safe from the Coronavirus threat,” she said.

Published on May 26, 2020

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