HYDERABAD: Railway workshops and production units in the twin states have been directed to manufacture essential medical items like hand sanitisers and masks in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. With an increased demand for essential medical items in railway hospitals and
health
units, workers are doing 10-12 hours overtime while experimenting in manufacturing essential health commodities such as beds, cots, and trolleys.
“We are currently working on making hand sanitisers, masks made of cotton cloth which will be reusable, cots, and aprons to fill in the demands of hospitals and employees in our zone,” a worker from the carriage workshop told TOI.
Officials said that the work is being done in Kazipet,
Vijayawada
, Lallaguda, and Guntur. Carriage workshops have found newer ways to put the workers to work and also deal with the crisis at hand during the lockdown.
“We have been appealing to the state government to provide us with masks, kits, and sanitisers but most of our supply needs are being met by the products made by railway workers,” hospital staff from the railway hospital in
Mettaguda
told TOI.
Divisional railway managers (DRMs) said the workers involved in manufacturing these essential health products are usually preoccupied with tasks like stitching and repairing berths, berth covers, blankets and curtains in the train coaches. “Other than our administrative staff, the rest of our field employees are deployed with the involvement of
Railway Protection Force (RPF),” a SCR official said.