E-Paper
Punjab to seek more oxygen from Centre, abroad
The state has also expedited the process of procuring on its own more oxygen tankers from different parts of the country and abroad
To bridge the gap between rising demand and supply of medical oxygen in the state, the Punjab government would seek additional oxygen tankers from the Centre.
Besides, Punjab has also expedited the process of procuring on its own more oxygen tankers from different parts of the country and abroad.
This was disclosed by chief secretary Vini Mahajan after chairing a high-level meeting to review the availability, need and distribution of medical oxygen in the state besides taking stock of the ongoing initiatives to check further spread of Covid-19 in the state, here on Saturday.
Briefing the present status of the supply chain, principal secretary (transport) K Siva Prasad said efforts have been intensified to bring oxygen tankers from Belgium and Australia. “Hopefully, the supply of oxygen tankers from abroad will reach Punjab soon,” he added.
Rahul Tiwari, who is supervising the oxygen control room, said Punjab’s first oxygen express train left for Bokaro in Jharkhand on Saturday morning to pick up its 80 metric tonnes (MT) quota of oxygen, which would further strengthen the stock of life-saving medical supplies in the state. He said the services of Markfed were being availed to speed up the process of oxygen procurement and ensure there was no shortage of the life-saving gas in the state.
Principal secretary, water supply and sanitation, Jaspreet Talwar, while sharing the district-wise information of pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants, said a total of 44 PSA plants would be set up in Punjab at a cost of ₹4.71 crore for which several NGOs and big companies have come forward to help the Punjab government in this endeavour.
Regarding the status of oxygen concentrators in the state, the chief secretary was informed that Punjab has around 1,060 concentrators at present, which were being distributed in the districts as per the requirement, while more concentrators would be available soon and would be sent to the districts as per the need.
