Authorities in a city in Madhya Pradesh have come up with a novel idea to remind people to keep washing hands in order to keep the Sars-CoV-2 virus (which spreads Covid-19) at bay.
In Sagar, 186 kilometre from state capital Bhopal, the district administration has put in place sirens which go off every three hours and people start washing their hands wherever they are.
The blowing of sirens starts at 9 am and continues till 9 pm, say officials who have come up with this idea of sanitising the city during lockdown period. The practice was implemented from Sunday.
Drums filled with water have been kept at designated points in the city where people are supposed to assemble on hearing the sound of sirens and hooters to wash hands, while maintaining social distancing as well, if they are on streets away from home. Apart from water drums, soaps and sanitisers have also been made available by locals.
As part of the sanitation drive, people also clean the door knobs, windows and other surfaces which might have been touched by others.
The shopkeepers in chemist and grocery shops – which are open for few hours during the lockdown – are also following the practice religiously. Administrative officials, including District Collector Preeti Maithil Nayak and Superintendent of Police Amit Sanghi, were present at certain points on Sunday and Monday to monitor response of people to the idea.
“This initiative taken by the district administration is a unique one. I never heard of such a practice before. This will help us develop the habit of washing our hands and sanitise our shops and houses regularly. I think other cities and towns in the country should adopt this practice,” said a chemist shop owner.
Anshul Bhargava, a resident of Makronia locality said, “It’s the second day of the practice and we were very much excited to hear the sound. Today, the moment we heard the sound all the members in my family including children gathered to wash our hands.”
“It’s a joint initiative of the district administration and police. Of course, this is to create awareness in public so that we all develop a habit of washing hands as per WHO’s guidelines as to how to protect ourselves against Covid-19. The response of people is overwhelming. We are now considering implementing the idea at tehsil level too,” said Sanghi.
