OFB ships 1,500 litres of hand sanitiser for Kerala

Kolkata: The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which is manufacturing hand sanitisers at its various facilities across the country to meet the ever-rising demand in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Tuesday despatched 1,500 litres of the hand rub from its Cordite Factory at Aruvankadu in Tamil Nadu, an official said here.

The shipment, which was flagged off by Chairman of OFB Hari Mohan remotely from its headquarters here, is meant for Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, one of the worst-hit states in the country by the coronavirus outbreak.

Central PSU Hindustan Lifecare, the erstwhile Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL), which has been nominated as the nodal agency, has placed an order of 13,000 litres of hand sanitiser, OFB spokesman Uddipon Mukherjee said.

The hand rub is being manufactured as per World Health Organisation (WHO) formulation in a number of Ordnance factories, including those which make explosives and other strategic equipment, he said.

Hand sanitiser, which contains ethanol, can only be processed in a cool environment with proper ventilation and requires extensive safety precautions, he said, adding that various teams of officers, staff and workmen toiled ceaselessly to establish the facility and then scale up production.

Apart from hand sanitiser, the OFB units are also developing masks and coverall, he added.