In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, Kharagpur Division of South Eastern Railway (SER) in association with SER Women's Welfare Organization (SERWWO), Kharagpur Division has started manufacturing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Kits for support of railway Doctors, Paramedical staff and Healthcare personnel. The PPE Kit includes Face Cover, Eye Shield, NS-95 Mask, Coverall Gown with Hood, Shoe Cover, Gloves and others.
Informing this by issuing press release SER said that this In-House production of PPE Kits is being done at “Hunar Center for Stitching &Embroidery” under the supervision of SER Women's Welfare Organization (SERWWO) and Mechanical Department of Kharagpur Division. It has been decided to produce 1000 PPE initially. Till now Kharagpur Division in association with SERWWO has manufactured 225 units of PPE Kit along with shoe covers.
The material used is non-woven polypropylene barrier fabric, which is impermeable to blood and bodily fluids. The PPE design and material are certified from DRDE, Gwalior. After stitching, the PPE Kits with shoe covers are sealed in plastic bags with markings of size, serial number and date of manufacturing. Social distancing, thermal screening and sanitizing are ensured during production of the PPE Kits. Regular inspections are also being done to ensure quality.
In addition to above, reusable masks are also being manufactured by SERWWO at “Hunar Centre”, Kharagpur. WWO has already manufactured 7000 reusable face masks, out of which 3000 masks have been handed over to the employees of Kharagpur Division. SERWWO is targeting for manufacturing of 30000 reusable face masks. Hand Sanitizers are also being manufactured in Kharagpur Division at Diesel Shed, Divisional Railway Hospital, EMU Car Shed at Santragachi and Electronic Loco Shed at Santragachi. Already, 600 liters of sanitizer have been manufactured In-house till now.
With a view to fulfill the commitment for the uninterrupted supply of essential commodities in every nook and corner of the Country during nation-wide lockdown in the wake of Corona virus pandemic, South Eastern Railway has already taken all out efforts to run freight trains with essential commodities on top priority towards different destinations in the country.
SER, during the month of April from April 1 to April 22 unloaded 62 rakes containing 1.56 lakh tonnes of essential commodities such as 40 rakes of rice, 14 rakes of wheat, 5 rakes of vegetable oil, one rake of salt and another 2 rakes containing 6700 Kiloliters of Petroleum product at different places of this railway covering the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha.
In addition to above during this nation wise lockdown, this railway has already run 281 trips of Parcel Express trains carrying high priority essential commodities such as food items, medicines, medical equipment including PPE kits, face masks, sanitizers to various destinations to and fro from Shalimar, Howrah, Tatanagar from April 2 to April 22. This amounts to 3,562 tonnes of parcel traffic containing 1,25,727 number of packages to and for different cities and towns of the Country.
This challenging gigantic task has been undertaken by the SER with the active participation of a dedicated workforce of front line warriors such as Loco Pilots, Guards, Trackmen, Station Masters, Parcel handling staff working at stations and divisional headquarters who are rendering their yeoman services to the nation in this crisis time.