A Maharashtra Government committee appointed to control the price of masks and sanitizers in the wake of the corona submitted a report. It has recommended that masks such as N-95 should be available for ₹19 to ₹50 depending on the type, while the double and triple layer masks for just ₹3 to 4, said State Health Minister, Rajesh Tope in a media statement.
The process of deciding on the prices mentioned by the committee is in the final stage, and after the approval of the state government, it will be mandatory to sell the masks at the new rates, Tope said.
Giving further information the Health Minister said that before the pandemic outbreak, N95 mask used to be sold for ₹40. In March, the price spiked to ₹175. That is an increase of 437.5 per cent. Some N95 masks have been sold for up to ₹250. Triple and double-layered masks have gone up from ₹8 to ₹10 to ₹16, and their prices have gone up by more than 160 per cent. These are the findings of the committee, he said.
The state has made wearing of masks mandatory in public places and but has found that they were being sold at much higher prices.
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