NEW DELHI: Taking cognisance of the need for essential services like plumbing during COVID 19 crisis, the Indian Plumbing Skills Council (IPSC) aligned to Skill India programme, under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), has prepared a database of over 900 plumbers who are ready to provide their services during the lockdown period, across the country.
The IPSC has also requested its affiliated training partners to conduct distribution drives of food and essential supplies to the needy and extended necessary support in the preparation and distribution activities. Over 70 training centres have also been nominated for conversion into food distribution/isolation centres.
According to an official statement, the IPSC has also drafted guidelines for the plumbing workforce to be observed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines were put together by a special IPSC technical task force. The guidelines cover important do's and dont's and location-specific precautionary measures, including residential buildings and apartments, hospitals, isolation centres, commercial complexes and other establishments.
Some key highlights of the advisory are following social distancing disinfect tools, equipment, the quantity of solutions to be used, prefer cashless transaction, disposing of used materials, educating consumers for self-help in crisis, and maintaining a log for backtracking in case needed. As per the order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on April 15, plumbers have been permitted to provide their services from April 20.
Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey said: "IPSC's proactive efforts in creating these guidelines are commendable and a welcome step towards India's fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. We must work together and support the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all healthcare workers that are fighting this pandemic in the frontline."
Dr Rajendra K Somany, chairman, Indian Plumbing Skills Council, said, "The health and safety of the Indian citizens are of utmost importance. The plumbing workforce plays a very important role in protecting the health of the nation. These guidelines have been created by the Technical Taskforce spearheaded by MK Gupta, as additional precautionary measures that the workforce must adhere to, in order to contain the further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic."
The plumbing sector in India is highly unorganised and dependent on contractual and migratory workforce and its various diversified sub-segments such as contractors, manufacturers and consultants were not represented by any organisation.
IPSC was launched to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of skilled manpower and has been consistently offering excellence in vocational proficiency, backed by holistic skill development for the plumbing community to help reduce this skill deficit. Currently, IPSC has approximately 230 training centres, 250 certified trainers and 85 certified assessors across India.