Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday sought the immediate intervention of both, the Prime Minister and the Union home minister, to ensure uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen to the state, along with an additional allocation of 50MT liquid medical oxygen (LMO) from a nearby source.
The CM sent separate letters to them, as the number of Covid patients on varying levels of oxygen support in the state went up to 10,000. With mounting caseload, the state was unable to increase beds for patients with moderate and severe symptoms due to oxygen availability constraints, he said, expressing concern over the “imminent loss” of lives.
He said the central government had expressed its inability to even allow the local industry to undertake commercial import of LMO from Pakistan through the Wagah-Attari border. “Despite assurance about adequate supply from alternate sources, I regret to point out that this has not happened,” he said.
Amarinder said the total allocation of LMO from outside the state was currently 195 MT but the state was not getting its daily allocated quota. The existing backlog from these facilities is 5.6 MT from Panipat, 100 MT from Dehradun and 10 MT from Roorkee.
Pointing out that Punjab was given to understand by the Centre that there would be likely disruption of LMO supply Tuesday onwards from Panipat and Barotiwala, the CM said this would cause great stress on the limited oxygen availability in the state. The disruption should be avoided, he said, adding that, if necessary, the state must be compensated immediately from a nearby additional source.
{{/usCountry}}Pointing out that Punjab was given to understand by the Centre that there would be likely disruption of LMO supply Tuesday onwards from Panipat and Barotiwala, the CM said this would cause great stress on the limited oxygen availability in the state. The disruption should be avoided, he said, adding that, if necessary, the state must be compensated immediately from a nearby additional source.
{{/usCountry}}He further said the state was airlifting two empty tankers daily to Ranchi, with the filled tankers returning by road from Bokaro on a 50-hour journey. The state had requested for 20 additional tankers (conducive to rail travel) to bring LMO from Bokaro, but was told that only two would be provided, he said.