Northern Railways' PPE samples clear DRDO test; 100 units a day to be produced soon

Two samples of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) made at a Northern Railways workshop have been cleared by the DRDO for their ability to block blood or body fluid, paving the way for its production at railway units.

The Northern Railways said on Sunday the test at the Defence Research and Development Organisation's Gwalior lab was conducted to check the resistance of the bio-protective covering material (fabric/garment) to penetration of blood or body fluid.

Now these coveralls will be manufactured by Indian Railways and will be worn by doctors in railway hospitals while treating COVID-19 patients, the Northern Railways said.

Its General Manager Rajiv Chaudhary said, This is a huge achievement for Northern Railways as well as for the Indian Railways. We will continue to supplement the efforts of the government in the fight against coronavirus.

There is an acute shortage of PPEs for medical professionals in the country who are treating coronavirus patients.

Technical specifications of these PPEs are now ready, and material suppliers are in place, the Northern Railways said.

We are now making 20 per day, but in a week's time we will be able to make 100 per day, a Northern Railways spokesperson said.

The Railway Board has issued necessary instructions to Zonal Railways for production of the PPEs.

The Northern Railways' Jagadhari Workshop which developed these sample will share the technical details including specifications of the approved samples and quantities of materials required with other zonal workshops and production units of the Railways, it said.

The Indian Railway Stores Department has been designated to procure the material for the production of the PPEs.

This internal effort of the Railways is over and above a centralised request projected to the government and also indicated to HLL through Indent, the railways said.

According to the Health Ministry, the number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the country climbed to 3,374 on Sunday while the death toll rose to 77.

Of them, the number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 3,030 and as many as 266 people have been either cured of the disease and discharged, and one had migrated, it said.