Hyderabad: 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 said.
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.