Hyderabad: Citing severe shortage of medical equipment, South Central Railway (SCR) appealed to local medicine suppliers and successfully raised production of medical equipment, masks, sanitizers, gloves, coveralls, personal protection equipment (PPE) at its railway carriage workshops.
Nizamabad and Kamareddy districts in Telangana and Rajahmundry and Anakapalle in Andhra Pradesh are facing severe shortage of medicine packaging material, syrup caps, masks etc.
To meet the demand, SCR is operating parcel trains. “The parcel services are running from Secunderabad, Sanathagar goods shed at Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam and Nalgonda railway stations. These train services are carrying manufacturing units of essential goods including drugs, pharmaceutical, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates,” Ch Rakesh, chief public relations officer, SCR, told TOI.
“Along with the special from Renigunta, a parcel van is loaded from Kacheguda to Nizamuddin in Delhi with 23 tonnes of bulk drugs and veterinary medicine,” he added.
According to a statement from SCR, among the material loaded around 8,000 face masks were supplied to the railway staff deployed on Covid-19 duties. Officials informed that inter-state daily parcel trains running from Secunderabad to Kakinada town and Renigunta via Rajahmundry, Nidadavolu, Bhimavaram Town, Gudivada, Vijayawada and Kazipet among other destinations are also carrying medicinal equipment supplies like respirators, goggles, face shields, gowns and aprons.
“Air-cooling machines, railway coach components, laser welding machines and electronic equipment from coach information system are being supplied as the zone is planning to manufacture ventilators,” a source from carriage workshop in Lallaguda told TOI. A number of pharmaceutical suppliers have come forward to supply 10kg-20 kg of medicinal supplies each from the city, officials said. Medical supplies are now being transported to Delhi, Kolkata, Amritsar, Aurangabad and Chandigarh through 32 special parcel trains from the twin cities.
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