A mechanised laundry constructed under the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model on the Gnanapuram side of Visakhapatnam Railway Station was commissioned on Thursday.
MP K. Haribabu inaugurated the laundry, the first such facility in East Coast Railway, in the presence of MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, MLC P.V.N. Madhav and Divisional Railway Manager Mukul Saran Mathur.
₹24.08 crore spent
The fully automatic laundry with the capacity 4-tonne capacity set up at a cost of ₹24.08 crore, would be operated by a private agency for 10 years after which it would be handed over to the railways. Washing, drying and ironing of the linen can be done automatically at the laundry.
A total of 4,500 bed rolls, with each consisting of two blankets, a pillow cover and one face towel, can be prepared in an 8-hour-shift. The cost of washing and pressing of each bed roll works out to ₹12.07. The laundry, established in an area of 20,000 sft, boasts of the best equipment in the world like washer-cum-extractor, flat ironer-cum-feeder, folder and dryers.
Eco-friendly steam boilers and 1000-litre water tanks were commissioned for water storage. Hitherto, the process was being done manually by outsourcing workers. Bed linen should be supplied to 21 trains in Visakhapatnam Junction. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Haribabu appreciated the efforts of the raliway division for implementing various projects in line with the ‘Swachchta’. Mr. Mathur apprised the MP on the working of the new mechanised laundry.
