Hyderabad: Regulate sale of surgical masks, demands Shabbir

Hyderabad: Former Minister and ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Thursday demanded that the State government must take immediate measures to regulate the supply of surgical masks and hand sanitizers and control their prices.

Shabbir Ali, in a media statement, said that the prices of surgical face masks and hand sanitizers have increased by more than 10 times ever since the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Hyderabad last week.

The surgical mask, which was being sold for Rs 3-5 per piece, is now being sold for Rs 25-30 per mask. Similarly, the hand sanitizers are not being sold at MRP.

"The increase in number of coronavirus cases or suspect has created a sense of panic among the common people. As advised by the authorities, people want to take all precautions like wearing a mask and cleaning their hands with sanitizers.

However, the precaution is turning out to be a burden on the common man due to the sudden increase in prices," he said.

Further, the Congress leader said that the increase in prices was due to huge gap between the demand and supply. The State government should have taken all measures to ensure supply of surgical masks and sanitizers in adequate quantity, he observed.