Under the drive, the target is to distribute around 14.5 lakh masks (Representational)
Police in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district will distribute over 14 lakh face masks to people on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on Monday, to urge the public to make efforts towards containing the spread of COVID-19.
As part of the drive, titled Ek Rakshasutra Mask ka (one safety string of mask), the police with the support of volunteers will offer masks to people in every police station area of Raigarh, a senior official said on Sunday.
"Right from when the coronavirus outbreak began in March, the Raigarh police have been running several awareness campaigns to sensitise people about the viral infection. The district witnessed a spurt in cases in the last one month,"
Raigarh Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI.
"In view of the present situation, we decided to take up the initiative on Raksha Bandhan, celebrated as the bond of protection, since a mask is also a tool for the safety of people," he said.
Till Saturday, Raigarh reported 223 COVID-19 cases and out of these, nearly 100 came to light in the last one month.
Under the drive, the target is to distribute around 14.5 lakh masks door-to-door in each police station area on Monday with the support of local people, Mr Singh said.
We have appealed to social and non-government
organisations to support the police in the cause, and help in the distribution of masks in their localities while complying with all the precautionary protocols," he said.
People can also click pictures while distributing masks in their area and share it with police on social media platforms, he said.
On this "Raksha Bandhan", the police also have urged people to enjoy the festival at home and offer masks as gifts to each other, he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)