Oxygen supply increased on CM’s intervention

The district received 43 metric tonnes of oxygen on Monday from plants in Bhiwadi in Rajasthan and neighbouring Panipat, besides a share from the oxygen express from Rourkela, on its way to Faridabad

The district received 43 metric tonnes of oxygen on Monday from plants in Bhiwadi in Rajasthan and neighbouring Panipat, besides a share from the oxygen express from Rourkela, on its way to Faridabad.

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Officials said that the supply was eight metric tonnes (MT) more than the supply on Sunday and also three more than the allotted quota of 40 MT. Officials said that the increased supply of oxygen over the past two days has helped in reducing the number of distress calls from hospitals and they are working towards streamlining the distribution of oxygen.

Yash Garg, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, said that the district has over 37,000 active Covid-19 cases and needs resources on a large scale to manage the situation. “We have started receiving more oxygen within a day after the chief minister took over monitoring and the quota has also increased. We got 35 MT on Sunday and on Monday, 43 MT was given. This has reduced the number of distress calls coming from hospitals and things will improve further. The CM will be assessing and monitoring the situation daily, which will help in faster decision making,” said Garg.

Senior administration officials, however, said that the distribution of oxygen to private individuals and small nursing homes was still a cause for concern.

In another important development, the health department said it has allocated 500 remdesivir injections to 42 hospitals that are registered with the government for treating Covid-19 patients. Also, the health department has allocated 10 doses of tocilizumab injections to patients after a requirement was raised by hospital authorities concerned.

Officials privy to the matter said that an increase in allocation of oxygen quota for Gurugram district, and the decision to distribute remdesivir and tocilizumab was done on the intervention of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who, on Saturday, took direct charge of managing and coordinating the Covid-19 measures in the city. The decision came after an unabated increase in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Gurugram over the past one and half months.

Garg said that the prices of ambulances were also capped on Monday after the matter was discussed in the review meeting chaired by Khattar. “The distribution of life-saving drugs like remdesivir and tocilizumab has also started,” said Garg.

An official privy to the matter said that the issue of oxygen supply from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan to large hospitals in Gurugram, which had been initially stopped by the Rajasthan government, was also resolved on Khattar’s intervention. “The situation is serious in the city and his presence will also push government officials to work with more alacrity,” he said.

Intervention by the chief minister, said officials, also helped them work out the modalities of airlifting oxygen trucks with the help of the Indian Airforce to Rourkela, as currently oxygen is being ferried through the rail network.

Dhaarna Yadav, secretary, regional transport authority, Gurugram, said “We have airlifted four empty oxygen tankers to Angul in Odisha, which will carry nearly 70 metric tonnes of oxygen. Five tankers have been sent to Rourkela in Odisha, from where an additional 50 metric tonnes of oxygen will be procured.”

Yadav said the tankers were sent to Rourkela by train from the Faridabad railway station and will return late Wednesday.