'How can Delhi breathe?': Kejriwal after 8 die in Batra Hospital due to oxygen shortage

Kejriwal pleaded for the provision of life-saving oxygen as he cited SOS calls from hospitals across the Union territory.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday urged the Centre with "folded hands" to provide Delhi with the required quantity of oxygen after eight Covid-19 patients, including the head of the gastroenterology department, died due to the oxygen crisis at Batra Hospital.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said these lives could have been saved by giving oxygen on time. (ANI file photo)

"I request the decision-makers with folded hands to provide oxygen to Delhi," he said. The hospital ran out of oxygen for 1.5 hours on Saturday, resulting in the loss of lives.

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Kejriwal pleaded for the provision of life-saving oxygen as he cited SOS calls from hospitals across the Union territory. The chief minister said there is a major issue of oxygen in Delhi and even after speaking to courts and writing to the Centre about Delhi's requirement of 975 tonne of oxygen daily, only 490 tonne have been allotted.

"SOS is coming from all hospitals. We have spoken in courts and written to the Centre that Delhi requires 976 tons of oxygen daily but we have been allotted only 490 tons of oxygen. Yesterday we received only 312 tons. How will this work?" ANI quoted Kejriwal as saying.

Terming the Batra hospital incident 'painful', Kejriwal said these lives could have been saved by giving oxygen on time. "How can Delhi breathe in such low oxygen," Kejriwal said, referring to the Centre's allocation of Oxygen to Delhi, which is far below Delhi's requirement.

The national capital is facing a heavy shortage of oxygen, hospital beds, ICU beds and other essential medical supplies required to fight the second wave of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) that has gripped the entire country.

Delhi on Friday found more than 27,000 people infected with Covid-19, and 375 died due to the disease. Additionally, the country touched the grim milestone of over 400,000 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours.