Masks, sanitisers and face shields for sale soon at railway stations

Currently, all multi-purpose stalls in Mumbai division are shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Common safety items to provide protection against COVID-19 such as masks, face shields and sanitisers, will now be sold at railway station stalls at fixed rates, and will be available once they open at major stations. This will not only cut down artificial shortages in the city, but will also help commuters travelling out of and entering the city. At present about 230 passenger trains operate across India and 700 suburban trains operate in Mumbai on both the lines.

"In order to emphasise providing safe and hygienic travel facilities to passengers, multi-purpose stalls (MPS) at stations have now been allowed to keep takeaway bedroll kits/items and other COVID-19-related protective items such as face masks, sanitisers, gloves, etc. These takeaway bedroll kit/items and other protective items should be of good quality and not exceed the MRP," a CR spokesperson said.

Stalls at Mumbai stations will soon get these essential items. While MPS on Central Railway, Mumbai are at all major termini and junction stations like Mumbai CSMT and Kurla LTT, similar stalls are on Western Railway at Churchgate and Mumbai Central. Presently all MPS in Mumbai are shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the items shall be available at the stalls whenever they open for general public.

On Western Railway at present, out of 15 MPS on Mumbai division, only one stall at Surat is operational, as the rest have been closed due to no train service/non-availability of vendors. The safety items are available in MPS on other divisions. All items like face masks, sanitisers, hand gloves and take-away bed roll kits/items are available at MPS on Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Ratlam divisions.

Passenger associations welcomed the Railways' decision to open such stalls as this will discourage hawkers who have been moving around every nook and corner of railway premises with cheap and unreliable masks. "These are no times of profiteering and the railways' official stalls allowing sale of such kits and items is a welcome move, as these now fall under essential category and should be carried/worn for the protection of individuals," Subhash H Gupta, member of National Railway Users' Consultative Committee said.

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