The South Eastern Railway (SER) has achieved the target of producing 4,000 high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE) by June 18.

The PPE kits, which are produced mainly at the Kharagpur workshop, include a face cover, eye-shield, NS-95 mask, coverall gown with hood, shoe cover and gloves.

The chief public relations officer of South Eastern Railway, Sanjay Ghosh, said the PPE kits are being manufactured by the railways to combat the spread of Covid-19.

“So far, around 4,000 PPE kits have been produced for railway doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and other healthcare professionals based in Ranchi, Chakradharpur, Kharagpur and Adra divisions. We have plans to produce another 1,000 PPEs later this month,” he said.

According to the CPRO, the production process is undertaken according to an approved quality assurance plan.

The design and materials are certified by the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior.

A railway technician who is involved in making the kits at the Kharagpur workshop, said they used polypropylene fabric, which is impermeable to blood and bodily fluids, to make the PPE kits.

“The stitching has to be seamless with proper taping on it. After stitching, the PPE kits are sealed in plastic bags with markings of size, serial number and date of production. The consignment of 4,000 PPEs have been dispatched to four railway divisions,” he added.

Before the outbreak of coronavirus, there were hardly any PPE kits that were manufactured in India but the emergence of Covid-19 and India’s resolve to fight the crisis has made the country one of the biggest manufacturers of PPE kits worldwide.

Several industries that were earlier indulged in manufacturing other goods have started producing PPE kits.