Maharashtra cops use face masks made by jail inmates

Arrangements have also been made in the prisons to ensure that every accused washes her/his hands with soap and water. There are 35,000 jailed accused in Maharashtra

Maharashtra cops use face masks made by jail inmates

Cops wear the masks made by prisoners for various state government departments

Face masks made by inmates of some prisons in Maharashtra, will be used by staff of various state government departments. The cloth masks are being made in prisons at Thane, Kalyan, Pune, Amravati, Aurangabad, Nashik, Nagpur, Akola and Kolhapur, and have been bought by the police. In the past three days, 1 lakh face masks have been made as per regulations for their manufacture, by the prisoners.

While police personnel have been using these masks, they are also being given to prisoners being taken for hearings in courts. When the accused return, they are allowed into the jail only after they have washed their hands. Arrangements have also been made in the prisons to ensure that every accused washes her/his hands with soap and water. There are 35,000 jailed accused in Maharashtra.

A prisoner makes a face mask

A prisons official said that any new accused coming to a jail was also being checked for Coronavirus. He told mid-day, "There was a meeting of prisons officials and Maharashtra police officers on Friday, in which the Maharashtra police has expressed a desire to buy masks made in the prisons. The prisons administration will provide as many masks as the Maharashtra Police needs."

Masks made in Thane and Kalyan prisons have been provided to the accused in Arthur Road and Byculla prisons in Mumbai. These masks are called Maharashtra Prisons masks.

Prisons Special IG Deepak Pandey said, "Whenever masks are demanded by government departments, the jail administration will provide them." The jailed inmates will be paid for the masks which currently only the police department has bought from them.

1,000
No. of jail inmates who are making the face masks

100k
No. of face masks made by them in the past three days

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