Inmates in T'gana prisons join battle against COVID-19,produce

As the nation combats the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, with increasing number of cases a cause for concern, inmates of prisons in Telangana are doing their bit to help, making thousands of masks and sanitisers for doctors, policemen, health workers and others in the frontline.

With increasing demand from health professionals and those in the field, as also from government departments and Information Technology firms, the Central Prisons and district jails in the state have ramped up manufacturing and supply of these items, officials said.

An added bonus is that the face masks are washable and reusable.

Both the masks and sanitisers are priced lower than products available in the market, they said.

The Telangana Prisons Department sells these products under the 'My Nation' brand and has also come out with a Health and Hygiene kit, comprising washable masks, hand sanitisers, handwash, bath soaps and phenyl, they said.

The inmates were trained by chemists on how to make sanitisers, while professional tailors at the prisons taught them how to stitch the masks.

"We did not have any prior exposure in manufacturing face masks and hand sanitisers, but in view of the crisis (coronavirus outbreak) we took the initiative by training the inmates," the official told P T I.

Around 9,000 face masks and 3,000 litres of sanitiser are being produced every day at Chanchalguda and Cherlapally central prisons in Hyderabad and other district jails, the official said.

The Prisons Department supplies the finished products to medical and health department personnel, police, power utilities and postal staff, among other government agencies.

Various Public Sector Undertakings have also placed bulk orders with them.

In fact even before the lockdown was announced the initial order for face masks came from some IT companies, the official said.

Such has been the demand that the Prisons Department has now deployed inmates exclusively for producing masks and sanitisers.

"As many as 50 inmates make 2,000 face masks every day at Chanchalguda central prisons itself. We have on hand orders to supply 60,000 face masks which are to be delivered by the month end," an official at the Chanchalguda prison said.

From Chanchalguda central prison itself over 30,000 facemasks and around 6,000 litres of sanitiser has been sold, the official added.