6 Ludhiana units to supply PPE kits

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 6

Six industrial units from Ludhiana on Monday got approval for supplying the much-needed personal protection equipment (PPEs) for health workers engaged in fighting Covid. The equipment will be ready for supply this week.

Of the six units, four — Evershine, Shivatex, Swamitex and Shingora — will be providing the complete PPE suits. The other two — Navyug Laminates and GuruKripa Tex Fab — will be providing the fabric needed to make the masks.

All six units got the approval from the South India Textile Research Association (SITRA). JCT Mills in Phagwara is also ready to supply the suits to the state. It has assured the state of supplying 10,000 PPE suits every day starting on April 20.

So far, a majority of health workers, including doctors and paramedics who are treating patients and collecting their samples, have been working without the PPE suits. Also, there is a shortage of masks. All over the country, there are a handful of units that have received approval to supply PPE suits and masks. As per the protocol, the PPE suit has to be discarded after use.

Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL) will procure the PPE suits from the units and supply them to other states.

Vini Mahajan, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, said two units – Surgeine in Hoshiarpur and Oxiclear Private Limited in Zirakpur — have received approval from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for supplying N-95 and N-99 masks to the state government. The combined per day production capacity of the two units is 5,000.

“The government hopes to receive the much-needed supplies for the frontline warriors this week. We will also start getting imported protective gear that HLL has procured on behalf of the Centre,” Mahajan said. At present, Punjab has placed an order for two lakh PPE suits. The order will be scaled up in case of any eventuality.

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