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Lesson learnt after oxygen tragedy, Gorakhpur now supplies it to 25 districts
Government and private hospitals in Gorakhpur are not only getting uninterrupted supply of oxygen but the district is also supplying oxygen to neighbouring districts
Government and private hospitals in Gorakhpur are not only getting uninterrupted supply of oxygen but the district is also supplying oxygen to neighbouring districts. Meanwhile, hospitals in various districts of the state, including Lucknow, continue to battle for oxygen.
Four years back, in August 2017, the district was in the limelight after the death of 60 children in the BRD Medical College due to the oxygen crisis. An inquiry was ordered and the medical officers including the then principal of the medical college were suspended.
With the surge in Covid-19 cases in the second wave, the district witnessed a large flow of patients to government and private hospitals. On Wednesday, the district reported 987 fresh cases taking the tally of active cases (number of patients under treatment) to 6,909. According to the chief medical officer Sudhakar Pandey, cases are being reported from both the urban and rural areas of the district and the details of the patients are being uploaded on the portal for allotment of beds by the integrated command and control centre.
District magistrate K Vijyendra Pandian said that there is no crisis of oxygen to hospitals in Gorakhpur, rather the oxygen plants in the district are supplying oxygen to 25 districts in Faizabad, Basti, Azamgarh and Prayagraj divisions. If required we will supply oxygen to Lucknow and Varanasi as well, he said.
This is the result of meticulous planning that has ensured a regular supply of oxygen to hospitals even as the flow of critical Covid-19 patients increased. The capacity of Modi Chemicals factory had been increased from 800 metric tonnes to 2,600 metric tonnes, the closed RK Oxygen factory has been started with the production of 3,600 MT, while a liquid oxygen tank has been set up at BRD Medical College to supply oxygen to the wards, he said.
An effort is also on re-start the closed Annapurna Oxygen Factory, located in the industrial development area of the district. The North Eastern Railways has supplied 500 oxygen cylinders and we have received 200 cylinders from the Gorakhpur Fertilizer Factory. A bank of 2,000 oxygen cylinders has been set up in the district collectorate for emergency supply to hospitals and needy as well, the DM said.
Regular supply of oxygen is being maintained to 40 private hospitals that have started admitting Covid-19 patients with a 48-hour oxygen supply back up, Pandian said.
The owner of Modi Chemicals, Praveen Modi, said that the factory has enhanced its production capacity by installing new technology. There will be uninterrupted supply of oxygen to all hospitals, he said.
