Cuttack businessman dons gold face mask worth Rs 3.5 lakh amid coronavirus outbreak
Cuttack businessman dons gold face mask worth Rs 3.5 lakh amid coronavirus outbreak
After a Pune man decided to show off his face mask made of gold in the midst of Covid-19 outbreak, a businessman in Cattack also followed the same trend as he got himself a gold mask.
Owing to his craze with gold since childhood, on his own admission, Alok Mohanty took a cue from people in Pune, who showed off gold mask. Some people in Surat also went on to buy masks studded with jewels and diamonds worth Rs 4 lakh from a city jeweller.
Following that, Mohanty briefed a jeweller about his preferred design and he agreed to make a mask made of gold for the businessman.
As a matter of fact, Mohanty's fascination for gold is so intense that other than ornaments such as chains, rings and bracelets, his accessories like watches and caps are also made of or lined with gold.
While talking to India Today, Mohanty stated that, "I have been wearing gold (ornaments) since the last 30-40 years. Wearing gold is my weakness. After seeing people wearing gold masks, I immediately asked my jeweller to design one for me."
The jeweller has done gold fretwork on an N-95 mask to make the face mask for Mohanty.
"The gold netted mask, which took 22 days to prepare, costs approximately Rs 3.5 lakh. Around 90-100 grams of yellow metal was used to make the mask," Mohanty added.
Mohanty, who has a business of furnitures, is also known for doing social work and feeding stray animals etc.
Social activist Sandeep Das Mohapatra stated, "This camouflage and tamasha during a pandemic when people are dying due to Covid-19 is not fair. Instead, if that gentleman had spent that money helping the poor, it would have served the purpose of mankind."