‘Please help us in whatever way you can’: Kejriwal to industrialists amid Delhi oxygen crisis

Delhi is struggling to cope with a record number of Covid-19 cases as hospitals faced an acute shortage of oxygen for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday requested the country’s top industrialists to help deal with the shortage of oxygen in the national capital as cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) continue to mount. “Please help the Delhi government if you have oxygen and tankers... Help us in whatever way you can,” Kejriwal wrote in a letter, reported ANI.

The chief minister has also written to his counterparts all over the country, urging them to send oxygen to Delhi. (ANI Photo)

Delhi is struggling to cope with a record number of Covid-19 cases as hospitals faced an acute shortage of oxygen for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, and began to turn away patients and shift those already admitted for treatment. The chief minister has also written to his counterparts all over the country, urging them to send oxygen to Delhi.

“Delhi does not produce any oxygen. Due to the severe rise in corona cases in the last few days, many Delhi hospitals have run out of oxygen. Daily supplies of oxygen to Delhi are woefully short of our requirements.” Kejriwal told other chief ministers in his letter which he asked to be treated like an SOS message.

Delhi has been allocated a daily oxygen supply of 480 MT by the Centre, which Kejriwal says is falling short since the current requirement is near 700 MT per day. “The central government is also helping us a lot in this regard. However, the intensity of the spread is so severe that it is proving inadequate. Therefore, I would be grateful if you could provide us with any oxygen, along with tankers, from your state or any organisation in your state. I would be personally grateful for your support,” Kejriwal wrote in his letter.