AAI, UNDP & CRPF join hands for food distribution during COVID-19 crisis:

Guwahati, May 1: AAI, UNDP & CRPF distribute food during lockdown. Support During Pandemic (SDP) to the local community has been extended by the Airports Authority of India, UNDP, and jawans of CRPF during nationwide lockdown due to the Corona crisis.

It’s an emergency food relief and community-oriented psychosocial drive, which was rolled out across Rani Development Block after the pandemic resulted in difficulties to the common man.

The Airports Authority of India at North East Region and UNDP had reached out to 321 households within Pub Rajapara Youth Club (250 households) and Kothalguri Village (71 households), across the Chandubi Lake belt in last few days.

Distributing the ration and food kits, Sanjeev Jindal, Regional Executive Director, AAI said that Airports in NE are equally worried for the people who have suffered due to lockdown, especially the population living around our airports. All the Airports in the region are extending help to the needy by distributing food grain, dry ration, and masks so that people, he added.

“With the help of UNDP, AAI is identifying gap areas in around 15 villages of Rani Block where we are providing healthcare services, sanitation equipment, livelihood tools and related items that could benefit their lives’, Jindal said.

“On the occasion of International Labour Day, we have targeted to distribute food grain to about 1000 families who are affected due to the Corona crisis. Other airports in the region have also aimed to provide about 10 tonnes of food grain in their locality covering about 1000 families and to date, AAI in NE has distributed about 120 tonnes of rice,” Jindal said.

He also lauded the efforts put in by the local administration and volunteers for the smooth conduction of this camp.

The communities within these villages are mostly dependent on agriculture, daily market, piggery, fishing and adventure sports, and eco-tourism. Along with the pandemic, recent outbreaks of diseases within poultry and piggery, has sabotaged the daily sustenance of the families.

With the anchoring support of the 175 BN CRPF, Rani, and an accommodating environment through music as a psychosocial tool, the SDP has completed its third drive, with a total reach-out to 821 households to date. The final drive of the first phase was planned for May 1, with the families solely dependent on the brick factories across North Guwahati.

Authorities have identified two more vulnerable pockets (villages) at Rani which is in urgent requirement of food supplies. Through a survey conducted by the CRPF, AAI, UNDP, and CRPF have been able to identify 190 households in Mairapur Village, 230 households in Jayantipur Village.

Moreover, the drive will also try to reach out to stagnant labor communities within the block. With this plan, starting the drive together, marks the last drive of the first phase of distribution.

This SDP Drive has been possible due to prompt support from all stakeholders and has led to a successful completion of the first phase of a mission, reaching out to some of the most remote and vulnerable pockets across the block.

A similar food grain distribution was carried at Tezpur Airport on April 29, which included Food relief materials in the surrounding areas of Holeshwar and Goraimari villages to the needy people and who have not received any support. A total of 1600 people have been identified and commenced, approx. 500 people have been provided food relief materials.

Airport Director, Tezpur Airport R N Singh said that Food relief materials donated by Airports Authority at Tezpur in Assam has covered the surrounding areas of Holeshwar, Goraimari, Dekargoan, Blocks, and Dhekiajuli which aimed to the needy people and communities without any docs and who are not receiving any support so far.

“Such people of 1600 in numbers have been identified and distributed food relief at a total cost of Rs 5 lakh,” he said.

Airports Authority of India in NE has also distributed free face masks to some of these individuals apart from foodgrain, dry ration, relief materials, etc targeted to make 25000 face masks from unused uniform cloth.

AAI UNDP & CRPF distribute food during lockdown. An excellent move.

IIT-G designs bamboo hospital furniture range

Guwahati, May 1: Department of Design at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati ( IIT-G ) completed designs of bamboo furniture for hospital, to meet the requirements of Primary Health Centers (PHC’s) for rural villages of Assam.

Bamboo craft forms an important economic driver in the northeast region of India.  However, for a craft that is so prevalent in the region, its effective utilization for public community facilities like health centers in rural areas were limited and this particular project demonstrated the potential.

Considering the present pandemic scenario, where there is an urgency in improving the basic infrastructure facilities in our primary healthcare services, it offers scope for collaborative interaction amongst the various stakeholders for the improvement of health services in particular and the overall development and the wellbeing of the community.

The project aimed for a sustainable and participatory design approach by utilization of locally available materials, craft skill manpower led by the active participation of local government departments to achieve these goals.

Prof. Ravi Mokashi Punekar, Department of Design, IIT Guwahati, said that –“The current pandemic crisis has brought to the fore, the need for seeking self-reliance of sustainable solutions that are contextually appropriate for meeting the needs of the community.”

IIT Guwahati team believes that the designs that they have developed are an appropriate and sustainable solution to meet local infrastructure needs and concurrently creating job opportunities for craft-persons using bamboo and cane available in the region.

Around two hundred beds can be manufactured per day:-

Given the current pandemic situation, if the situation arises, the bamboo furniture range will help in meeting the high demand required for patients admitted for treatment.

The team has offered to share the designs with Guwahati Medical Hospital in Guwahati.

The design team is already in touch with two local entrepreneurs who have agreed to undertake the manufacture of a simpler version of the hospital bed.

IIT Guwahati students have designed and developed a low-cost intubation box:

Guwahati, April 30: IIT Guwahati students have designed and developed a low-cost intubation box. The device functions as an aerosol obstruction box which is placed atop the patient bed on the head-side, limiting the flow of virus-laden droplets from the patient to the doctor, especially during the process of intubation.

As in the case of COVID-19, patients develop respiratory failure thus requiring assistance in the form of endotracheal intubation. Given the nature of this process, healthcare providers are at risk of contracting the virus via droplets either exhaled or coughed out by the patient. The device is inspired by the design of Dr. Hsien Yung Lai, an anesthesiologist from Taiwan.

It is developed and designed by a student venture for medical innovation named Mitochondrial. Mitochondrial is mentored by Dr. S. Kanagaraj and Dr. Sajan Kapil of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Guwahati. It is a low-cost alternative to intubation boxes and is easier to manufacture and deliver amid the lockdown. The projected cost per box is INR 2000, which is significantly lower than existing alternatives.

The team has received assistance from the DRDO for prototyping and testing at the Solid State Physics Laboratory, New Delhi, and is consulting Dr. Johann Christopher of Care Hospitals, Hyderabad, and Dr. Abhijeet Bhatia of NEIGRIHMMS Shillong, to ensure the efficacy of the design.

Speaking on the latest development related to COVID-19, Dr. T. G. Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati, “It is a matter of great pride that after the major initiatives taken by faculty members and alumni of IIT Guwahati to develop various products for the containment of COVID-19 and major research initiatives, IITG students are also coming up with novel products and immediate solutions for protecting doctors, nurses and healthcare workers in this national effort against COVD-19. At IIT Guwahati we have initiated the COVID-19 Grand Challenge for encouraging the students to come forward with ideas and solutions to fight this pandemic and we are expecting several products shortly.”

Amid the dearth of PPE such as powered air-purifying respirators (PARPs) and well-sealed face masks, it becomes essential to complement the use of makeshift acrylic face shields, N95 masks and surgical respirators, with a proper obstruction for aerosol spewed via the mouth and nose of the patient. The intubation box allows having this protection in place by limiting the infection within the box’s volume around the patient. As opposed to other PPE, this box works effectively for multiple doctors and nurses serving the patient. While the transparent material allows visual access to the head of the patient inside, the arm-holes on the box allow for the care-provider to perform any necessary tasks including intubation and extubation, which are both processes known to be cough inducing. Further, the boxes are reusable, as they may be cleaned thoroughly with 70% alcohol or bleach, to allow use for the next patient.

Speaking about the development, Umang Mathur, a BTech student of the Department of Bioscience & Bioengineering, IIT Guwahati, said, “We feel that it is our responsibility to contribute to this fight against a global pandemic and there could not be a better time and opportunity for IIT graduates to start building upon their world-class education background and exposure, to provide solutions centered around simplicity and make India self-reliant, instead of being dependent on imported technologies especially at this time of crisis”.

The primary prototype of the design has been completed at DRDO, New Delhi, and the box is currently being reviewed in the field at major COVID-19 care centers, such as AIIMS, New Delhi. Based on the continuous feedback, the design will be further optimized for improved efficacy, before the first batch is manufactured in Gurgaon, Haryana.

The team has started a crowdfunding campaign to manufacture these boxes and provide them to government hospitals for free. The campaign raised a record INR 50,000 within six hours of launching.