Agra (Uttar Pradesh): The city administration swung into action after a video of two children using discarded Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to carry firewoods went viral on several social media platforms on Wednesday.
In the video, two children of age 7-8 years, were seen carrying firewood in a discarded PPE, possibly used by the doctor involved in the treatment of coronavirus.
Talking to ETV Bharat, Tannu, one of the children seen in the video said, "We found the suit from a pile of garbage near a qabristan (graveyard) and took it away to carry our firewood. Exactly, we don't know about the suit. We found a little comfortable while carrying the firewood, so we took that white suit (PPE suit)."
According to the reports, the video was shot near the DRDO laboratory in Agra Cantonment by a media person.
Whereas, Omprakash, father of the children said, "They were oblivious about the suit they used to carry woodpile. When I saw the suit in their hands, I immediately throw the PPE kit in a canal nearby."
Responding to ETV Bharat over the phone, Sadar Hospital Chief Medical Officer Vikash Jaiswal said, "We have come to know about the tragic incident through a media channel. The moment we come to know, we rushed to the concerned department and ordered a probe against the negligence in decomposing the hazardous medical equipment."
Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has urged all the State Pollution Control Board and Pollution Control Committee to put in serious efforts to mitigate the possible risk of unscientific disposal of the bio-medical waste arising out of the handling of the COVID-19 disease.
Also Read: NGT raises concern over COVID-19 bio-medical waste disposal
