Chennithala urges Kerala govt to airlift surplus medical oxygen to crisis-stricken Delhi

After Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the States to help, Leader of Opposition in Kerala Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday came forward to request the Pinarayi-Vijayan government to get the surplus medical oxygen cylinders in the State airlifted to Delhi, which he rightly described as the home of a lot of Keralites, in view of the 'critical phase' it is presently experiencing. He pointed out that the State had oxygen in excess.  

Taking to his official Twitter handle, he requested the Pinarayi-Vijayan government. "The State of Delhi which is a home for lakhs of Keralites is going through a critical phase. Oxygen shortage in Delhi is taking away lives. Request Kerala Govt to provide an air load of Oxygen to Delhi as we have in excess," he wrote. 

He also requested an open medical facility in the Kerala House. 

Delhi CM Kejriwal Writes To All CMs Seeking Spare Oxygen

Earlier on Saturday, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal requested all States to send spare oxygen to the national capital. Highlighting that in spite of the Centre's help, all available resources were proving to be inadequate, he made the said request. 

It is pertinent to mention here that earlier in the day, Twenty-five people lost their lives at Delhi’s Jaipur Golden Hospital due to a shortage of medical oxygen. Elaborating on the unfortunate incident, the hospital authority said, "Last night, only 1500 litres of oxygen was given, and as it is not enough, we were left with no oxygen resulting in the death of 25 people." Adding that the patients who lost their lives were critical, he added, "In a normal scenario a patient would have managed but this was not possible for these patients."

The hospital along with four other hospitals had approached the Delhi High Court, which during the hearing question the Central government today, saying, "According to IIT, Delhi, the peak will come in mid-May. It's a tsunami. How are we trying to build the capacity?"

It is pertinent to mention here that Delhi recorded 24,103 fresh COVID-19 cases and 357 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative caseload to 10,04,782 and the death toll to 13,898. 

(Credit-PTI/Facebook/Pinarayi Vijayan)