Mumbai: Masks top sale by auto dispensers at Central Railway stations

The self-dispensing machine that has been set up at CSMT, Dadar and LTT, Kurla

The Central Railway has recorded brisk sales of masks, hand sanitisers, and gloves through its automatic dispensers installed at three stations.

Among the highest sold are the masks of both kinds, simple ones and N95, followed by hand sanitiser bottles and gloves. CSMT, Dadar and Kurla LTT have this facility at present.

Data collated since January shows that the sale of three-ply masks, each costing Rs 10, tops the list, followed by N-95 masks that are priced Rs 30 apiece. While over 6,000 3-ply masks have been sold, more than 2,000 N95 masks have been dispensed so far by these machines.

Sanitiser bottles of 100 ml and 250 ml, costing Rs 50 and Rs 100 per bottle respectively, sit next on the list. The total sale by the three dispensers so far is Rs 1,57,250.

Also Read: Mumbai cops act against 6,474 maskless people in a day

mid-day had highlighted in its January 14 edition how commuters had stressed the need for easy availability of sanitisers and masks at railway platforms and stations.

Commuters had suggested that masks and sanitisers be made available at newspaper stalls and canteen kiosks at stations once trains opened for the general public as these consumables are a sure shot way to curb the pandemic.

The sale of masks could be higher because of the strict enforcement of action against the maskless. "If one forgets to carry a mask or is lost in transit, commuters can now easily pick it up at stations," a senior railway official said.

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No. of stations that have the dispensers