Inmates of Ghaghidih Central Jail have started making face masks to make up for their shortage in the market in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jail superintendent Satyendra Chaudhury said the prisoners had been making cotton masks for themselves ever since the news about the killer virus spreading across the country started coming in.
“We came to know that substandard and duplicate masks are being sold in the market after a spike in demand. This got us thinking about making good quality masks for sale in the market. We approached Ranchi NGO Saralseva and asked it to provide us the with the required logistics,” Chaudhury told The Telegraph on Friday.
He said officials of Saralseva’s associate company Raisom Services Pvt Ltd, which has expertise in mask-making, visited the central jail on
Friday and the actual work began within a few hours after that.
“The cotton masks that the inmates were making so far were washable. We had instructed the prisoners and undertrials to wash their masks in hot water and Dettol every night before going to sleep. But the ones they have started making from Friday are different and suitable to effective against coronavirus,” the jail superintendent said.
Of the over 1,850 inmates at Ghaghidih jail, 500 are convicts and the rest are undertrials.
The masks are being made by the convicts after a brief training by Raisom Services.
Rajesh Kumar, chief executive officer of Raison Services, confirmed having mobilised the convicts of Ghaghidih jail for manufacturing masks.
“We are providing them materials for making 2,000 masks per day. We will be responsible for bringing the masks to the market. One mask will cost Rs 15 and a pack of 10 will be priced at Rs 100,' Kumar said.
He said the masks having three layers were washable.
“There is cotton material on either side with a fusing fabric in the middle. The layer of fusing fabric will work as a filter. The masks are reusable once they are washed in hot water and antiseptic liquid like Dettol,” Kumar said.
He said these masks were more reliable than the ones being sold in the market now.
