COVID-19: Delhi CM seeks more oxygen supply from Railways; Centre allocates Maha highest

Amid the surge in oxygen demand, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, wrote to Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal seeking additional oxygen for the national capital. In his letter, Kejriwal complained that output of M/s INOX of 140 MT was diverted from Delhi to other states. Highlighting Delhi's need of 700 MT oxygen daily, he urged the Centre to ensure its uninterrupted supply and restoring 140 MT supply back to Delhi.

Delhi CM complains to Railways

Railways redistribute oxygen

After holding talks with 12 states, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal stated that 6177 MT of oxygen has been allocated to the stares. Of the shortlisted states, Maharashtra has been allocated 1500 MT, Delhi 350 MT and Uttar Pradesh 800 MT. Prior COVID-19 hit India, the nation's consumption was around 1000-1200 MT, said Goyal adding that nowadays 4,795 metric tonnes of medical oxygen is being used. Except for nine sectors, supply of oxygen for industrial purposes by manufacturers and suppliers will be prohibited from April 22 as a temporary measure.

With Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh demanding Railways' help to transport liquid oxygen to the states, Railways has agreed to do so via green corridors. These corridors will ensure fast supply of oxygen to hospitals, stated Goyal.  Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh have written to PM Modi seeking additional medical oxygen amid a sudden surge in demand due to an increase in COVID-19 cases across India.

India's oxygen shortage

On Saturday,  Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency meeting to review the COVID situation and the immunization drive across the country which is currently underway. Top officials across various ministries attended the meeting to discuss the shortage of Remdesivir, oxygen, beds, ventilators, and vaccine doses across states. To meet rising demand,  Centre has sanctioned installation of 162 pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plants in public health facilities in all states to help hospitals become self-sufficient in their requirement for medical oxygen, while also reducing the burden on the national grid for its supply of medical oxygen.  Thirty-three of the 162 PSA plants have been installed -- five in Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three each in Chandigarh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand; two each in Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana; and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, it said.