A sewing machine is an unlikely gear in the police’s list of items to ensure social distancing among the public to check the COVID-19 spread.
But as the fast-spreading virus brings about a shortage in face masks, a police station in the hilly outskirts of Kottayam has now taken the first step towards establishing a sewing unit. In a matter of days, it has employed a team of tailors and opened a production line, which will roll out face-masks to be given free to the public.
40 tailors
As many as 40 tailors, assisted by a handful of others, are spending hours at the Mundakkayam police station here to quick-stitch one lakh face masks. Workers at the sewing unit, operating in the conference hall of the station here, were called into voluntary service through social media and word of mouth.
“Prior to launching the unit, the tailors were subjected to a medical screening and the stitching tables were arranged in compliance with the social distancing guidelines. Besides the local people, police officers on duty at the station too are assisting the workers here,” said Shibu Kumar V., Station House Officer.
According to a police officer, media reports on the shortage of face masks and those on black-marketing by a few vendors are what prompted the station to take up mask-making. “As officers in the front line of the battle against COVID-19, we were concerned when we saw people moving out in the open without wearing face masks,” he added.
The cost of producing one lakh face masks is estimated to be just over one lakh rupees, a part of which will be met through sponsorship. The unit operates every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has a capacity to produce over 1,000 units daily.
Sanitise end product
Commenting on the initiative, G. Jaidev, District Police Chief, Kottayam, congratulated the Mundakkayam police for the novel initiative. “All resources including the workers were mobilised locally and my role was limited to giving nod to the project,” he said. According to him, the unit has been directed to follow the medical guidelines with regard to sanitising the finished products.