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Updated March 26th, 2020 at 21:43 IST

Amid COVID-19 crisis, Rajasthan govt permits 9 liquor factories to produce hand sanitisers

The Rajasthan govt allowed nine liquor shops to produce alcohol-based hand sanitisers in a bid to curtail black marketing and hoarding of disinfectants

Reported by: Gloria Methri
Rajasthan
| Image:self
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The Rajasthan government on Thursday allowed nine liquor shops to produce alcohol-based hand sanitisers in a bid to curtail black marketing and hoarding of disinfectants amid high demand due to Coronavirus pandemic. Five units of the government-run Ganganagar sugar mills and four private companies were given licenses to start producing sanitisers.

The five units are located in Mandore (Jodhpur), Kota, Hanumangarh, Jhotwara (Jaipur) and Udaipur cities, while the private companies are in Alwar and Jaipur districts of Rajasthan.

"We have released first batch 2.70 lakh bottles of 180 ml sanitiser to Bhilwara. Our production capacity will increase to 5 lakh bottles per day from tomorrow (Friday), which will subsequently rise to 10 lakh bottles per day in coming three days after private companies start their production," Prithvi Raj, the director of Ganganagar Sugar Mills, told PTI.

READ | Union Government Bans Export Of Ventilators And Sanitizers Indefinitely Amid Lockdown

Rising demands in neighbouring states

The director of Ganganagar Sugar Mills Prithvi Raj said, with additional production units, he will be able to meet the demands from Delhi and Bihar after the supply reaches saturation level in Rajasthan. Initially, these hand sanitisers will be distributed free of cost to government offices, police and other services. Later, it will be sold at much cheaper prices than it is currently available in the market, he said.

The demand for sanitisers and masks has shot up in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Central government has labelled these products as essential commodities. After observing a rise in cases of black marketing, the Centre decided to rope in state-run distilleries to produce alcohol-based hand sanitisers.

READ | MoS Mansukh Mandaviya Says Govt Fulfilling Requirements Of Medicine, Masks, And Sanitisers

Centre permits distilleries to manufacture sanitiser

On Thursday, the Centre said it has given permission to distilleries and sugar mills to manufacture hand sanitisers in bulk and has already issued licences to 45 distilleries. To maintain demand and supply of hand sanitisers, states have been asked to remove any bottlenecks in supply of raw materials for making hand sanitizers and to give permissions to the applicants, including distilleries, who intend to manufacture hand sanitisers, it said.

"We had received 100 applications, of which we have given licence to 45 distilleries so far apart from 564 other manufacturers. These companies will manufacture hand sanitisers in bulk," Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Agarwal told PTI.

More than 55 distilleries are likely to be given permission in one or two days and many more are being motivated to produce hand sanitizers, he said. The permission has been given under the Drug Prices Control Order, he added.

READ | '21-day Lockdown Triggers Massive Interstate Migration Of Daily Wagers, Raj Govt Steps In To Help Them'

READ | American Vodka Company To Produce Hand Sanitizers Amid Coronavirus Crisis

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Published March 26th, 2020 at 21:43 IST

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