COVID-19 Outbreak: Indian Railways To Manufacture One Lakh Coveralls For Frontline Staff By May 31

In India's fight against coronavirus, Indian railways has targeted to manufacture one lakh coveralls by May 31 by COVID-19 frontline staff. As of now, the railways has obtained the raw materials for 60,000 of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and distributed them among various zones.

Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) collected material from four government-authorized suppliers of raw material for PPEs to stitch the coveralls.

The railway coverall costs, including GST, is Rs 447 per piece. However, the ones available in the market cost Rs 808.50.

"We have tied up with the government-approved raw material suppliers. What we are making is not just cheaper but also superior in quality compared to what is available in the market," Arun Arora, the Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer of Northern Railway, said.

He got the coverall samples passed by the DRDO lab and sent the designs along with the tutorial videos to various zones. Northern railways has become the central body for coverall-related material.

On Monday, April 20, it was observed that for two consecutive days, the workshops and other units of Northern Railway together stitched over 1,000 coveralls in a day. The zone has made 3,467 coveralls and has supplied them to railways hospitals and in other required zones.

The month-end target is to make over 10,000 coveralls. To cover up a lakh of coveralls by Indian Railways, the zone is trying to make around 40,000-50,000 of them.

However, the Uttar Pradesh government, on April 20, shut down the two main workshops in Lucknow's Alambagh and Charbagh, where PPE items were being manufactured as part of containment measures. The stitching and manufacturing facility in Noida has also been closed.

Despite these obstacles, the officials say that they are determined to achieve the target.

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