YFC volunteers, ITI students stitch, distribute 6K masks

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, May 23

Doing their bit in the district administration’s fight against Covid-19, the Water and Soil Conservation Department in collaboration with the Rotary Club, Goraya Midtown, ITI Women Lajpat Nagar, and Youth Football Club (YFC), Rurka Kalan, has taken up the task of making 6,000 masks and donating the same to government offices, field labourers and other frontline warriors.

Soil conservation officer Lupinder Kumar said the cloth for making the washable masks was given jointly by the Water and Soil Conservation Department and the Rotary Club while the stitching part was managed by ITI girl students and YFC volunteers.

He said they had got 6,000 masks stitched and these were distributed among field labourers, staff of government offices and frontline warriors, including police personnel, sanitation staff, fruit and vegetable vendors.

“As wearing masks is mandatory while venturing out, it was observed that many people, especially labourers, were using non-washable masks. There are many vendors and other people who were found throwing used masks. Thus, we took the initiative to stitch as well as promote use of home-made washable masks,” he said, adding that they had also advising people to not to throw masks in public places and wash it properly with soap and hot water and dry it properly before they were used. He said the task was teamwork and every member has put their best effort to make it possible.

“We have to win over the pandemic together as ‘we’ not ‘I’,” he added.

Dharam Paul, Principal, ITI, Lajpat Nagar, said girl students of the institute had themselves volunteered for the task and besides attending online classes on a daily basis, they were also devoting time in stitching these masks from their places.

“We helped the Water and Soil Conservation Department in getting these 6,000 masks stitched. Besides, the institute, with the help of its staff members and students, have also stitched another 11,000 masks, which have been distributed among needy persons living in slums and police personnel,” he added.