COVID-19: Indian man gets himself Rs 2.89 lakh gold mask

Pune: At a time when wearing face mask is mandatory to contain the spread of coronavirus, a businessman from Maharashtras Pune district has got himself a customised gold mask worth Rs 2.89 lakh.

Nearly 55 gm of the yellow metal has been used in making the mask, businessman Shankar Kurhade, a resident of Punes Pimpri-Chinchwad town, told reporters here while wearing the gold mask.

"I saw a news on television about a silver mask. I then spoke to my jeweller and ordered a gold mask," he said.

The jeweller delivered the mask, costing Rs 2.89 lakh, in 10 days, the businessman said, adding that he also distributed relief material to the needy people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier, another businessman from Pimpri-Chinchwad Datta Phuge shot to fame in 2012 when got made a shirt of 3.5 kg of gold, worth Rs 1.27 crore, and wore it in public.

Phuge, who was in the business of money-lending and chit-fund, was killed here in 2016 by a group of persons over a suspected monetary dispute.

A former MNS MLA from Pune, Ramesh Wanjale, was also known for his penchant for wearing gold ornaments that earned him the nickname of gold man in the political circles here.

He died of a heart attack in 2011.