Kanpur Ordnance Factory makes special medical tents

The Kanpur-based Ordnance factory has come up with special medical tents, which could be used as isolation wards for suspected and positive cases of the Covid-19 virus.

In what could prove to be a much-needed resource to fight coronavirus pandemic, the Kanpur-based Ordnance factory has come up with special medical tents, which could be used as isolation wards for suspected and positive cases of the Covid-19 virus.

The tent has enough space for two beds and placement of the medical equipment. Made of poly visco 410 fabric, it is sturdy, waterproof, provides ample ventilation and could be easily sanitized. (HT Photo)

The tent has enough space for two beds and placement of the medical equipment. Made of poly visco 410 fabric, it is sturdy, waterproof, provides ample ventilation and could be easily sanitized.

“More than that, the tents have their relevance in remote and inhospitable terrains which lack infrastructure,” said SN Pathak, president, All India Defence Employees Federation, adding that Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has pitched in all resources to help the country fight the pandemic.

Already, Arunanchal Pradesh has procured 50 such tents for coronavirus patients and has ordered more, which would be supplied soon, said Pathak.

In six states, the OFB has planned to set up 10 hospitals with combined capacity of 280 isolation beds.

A senior official of Ordnance factory said as the number infected people were rising there was an apprehension that isolation bed could go scarce. In such a situation, the special tents would alleviate the crisis and comes up as a cost effective solution for quarantine purposes in this fight.

At the moment 100 such tents could be made per day but if need be the production could be ramped up to provide thousands of them from all the five defence factories in Kanpur.

The length of the tent is 2050 mm, width 4660 mm and height is 2850 mm. The total area the tent covers is 9.55 sq metres.

It weighs merely 10 kilograms unlike the traditional tents whose weight is around 70 to 80 kg.

In addition, the Board has asked Ordnance factories in Kanpur, Shahjahanpur, Hazratpur and Chennai to start industrial production of masks, overall covers, gloves and other essential items.

Each week, said Pathak, 6,000 overall covers would be churned out from these factories where upgraded heat sealing machines have been installed recently.

Also, the Small Arms Factory (SAF) in Kanpur was producing 200 litres of hand sanitiser and making it available to the people.