The Indian Railways will soon replace the existing blankets with designer, light-weight ones that are washable after every use. The National Institute of Fashion Design is designing the new blankets for the railways, PTI reported on Sunday.
Currently, a trial run of these new blankets is being carried out in the Central Railway zone. “Our aim is to provide washed blankets along with fresh linen in trains for each journey,” an unidentified Railway Ministry official in the housekeeping directorate told PTI.
The Railways has also decided to increase the frequency of washing blankets. This came after a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India highlighted the unhygienic condition of blankets. It said that blankets, linen were not washed for six months although the guidelines said that these should be washed every one or two months.
Besides, the railways has also started providing blankets with covers in AC first-class compartments. “The service has been started in all the major railways divisions,” said railways spokesperson, Anil Saxena, according to the Economic Times. “By the end of this month, the service will be available across all divisions. These covers will be washed daily.”
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