Prison inmates in UP's Mirzapur get order of 6,000 masks from district officials

Inmates of a prison here are working hard to deliver around 6,000 masks ordered by district officials in view of the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has led to a huge spike in the demand of personal protective equipment.

According to the district prison officials, 14 prisoners are sewing around 800 masks daily. They started with two sewing machines, previously used to train them in tailoring, and distributed the masks among all the inmates, Jail Superintendent Anil Rai said on Monday.

Presently there are around 600 prisoners in the jail.

Impressed by the quality of the product, District Magistrate Sushil Kumar Patel provided five sewing machines and placed an order of 4,000 masks. The order would be ready in a couple of days, Rai said, adding the superintendent of police has also provided a sewing machine.

Besides the order from the district magistrate, the chief medical officer has also placed an order of 2,000 masks, he said.

The raw material for these masks, including cloth, sanitised tissue paper, thread and elastic, are being purchased from the wholesale market. The finished products are dried in the sun before they are ready for use, the prison superintendent said.

Rai said permission would be sought from the district magistrate to sell the masks in markets.

The production cost of one mask is Rs 6 and it would be sold at the same price. Also, if required, more prison inmates could involved in the work, he added.