The Indian Railways is going to manufacture over 1 lakh washable face masks using the cloth material with which it prepares bright orange uniform worn by its various staff members , reports Indian Express.

The move by Indian Railways comes as the government has made it mandatory for masks to be used, both at public places and at workplaces. The masks manufactured by the Railways is expected to cost 5.94 each, which stands lower than the mask with the same quality which is sold in the markets at around Rs 7.5 each.

The Northern Railways has already issued the instruction to make masks from the cloth in its store meant for the standard-issue uniform of the railwaymen. The workshops have also already identified 5,000 meters of surplus cloth, which was meant for making of uniforms, but now has been lying idle for some time.

The idea for the initiative came up while stitching of masks at Indian Railways' 150-years-old workshops in Lucknow's Charbagh and Alambah where the workmen noted that a lot of the cloth for the making of uniforms was available for use at a time when the demand for masks is skyrocketing.