The distillery and liquor division of the Rajasthan State Ganganagar Sugar Mills (RSGSM) that normally produces 2.4 million bottles of country liquor every day is now producing sanitisers as part of the government’s efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.
RSGSM plants had been shut for three days following the 21-day lockdown. But from March 25, five out of its 19 plants began producing sanitisers.
The plants have produced about 1.4 million bottles of sanitisers until March 31 and supplied free of cost to government departments in the front line of the Covid-19 fight.
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“The approximate cost producing these sanitisers is Rs 3.5 crore. We consider it as our contribution to the state’s efforts to fight the pandemic,” said Kesar Lal Meena, RSGSM general manager. The government organization has also donated Rs 5 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund Covid-19 Mitigation Fund.
The plant in Jaipur operates in two shifts – 6 am to 1.30 pm and 2 pm to 9 pm – and the plants in Mandore (Jodhpur), Hanumangarh, Ranpur (Kota) and Udaipur operate in one shift – from 8am to 5pm – to produce sanitisers in plastic bottles of 180ml each.
Meena said two chains are operating in Jaipur and one chain each in the other plants. “There’s a shortage of labour so we cannot operate more chains. On a normal working day, we have 160 labourers in Jaipur plant alone. Currently, the plant is operating with 40,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Meena said two chains are operating in Jaipur and one chain each in the other plants. “There’s a shortage of labour so we cannot operate more chains. On a normal working day, we have 160 labourers in Jaipur plant alone. Currently, the plant is operating with 40,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Excise commissioner Bishnu Charan Mallick said the sanitisers have been given to district administrations for free distributions to frontline workers in police, medical and health and other departments.
Meena said production of sanitisers began on March 25 on a small scale. “Large-scale production began the next day when all five plants got operational,” he said.
The RSGSM GM said the sanitisers will be available across 40 depots of Rajasthan State Beverages Corporation Limited, which normally handle supply of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), from Wednesday for Rs 37.50 each bottle.
“We know there are restrictions on movement but people are exempted from the lockdown orders may also need to buy these sanitisers. The cost of our sanitiser is one third of the market rates,” Meena said.
So until the plants are closed for production of country liquor, the rectified spirit is being turned into sanitisers with lemon and pink essence to colour the liquid.