The Eastern Railway on Thursdaysaid it is producing face masks and sanitiser for its staff to ensure their safety in the face of the novel coronavirus outbreak.The protective masks and sanitiser are being manufactured at the ERs Malda coaching depot, an official said.Caching depots take care of maintenance needs of all the coaches of long-distance trains.It has an initial target of producing 1,000 masks and 150 of these have already been handed over to the staff, he said.The Malda coaching depot is also producing hand sanitiser and 500 bottles have been distributed to the field staff, the official said.Freight train engines in all the divisions of ER are being regularly sanitised to ensure the safety of the running staff, who are working round the clock to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential goods in all parts of the two railway zones in eastern India."Freight services are continuing on 24x7 basis to maintain the availability of various goods in every area," ER spokesman Nikhil Chakraborty said.Around 200 freight trains are carrying food grains, coal, iron ore and fertilizers.Employees have been deployed at various goods sheds and other important locations while maintenance and control staff are working hard to ensure uninterrupted movement of the freight trains, Chakraborty said.He said the ER has arranged regular health check-up and counselling of field staff to prevent the spread of coronavirus and to maintain their morale in the present situation.
