Bhubaneswar: As the COVID-19 situation across the state grows worse with each passing day, people from all over Odisha are apprehensive whether the government will be able to handle the eventuality of oxygen shortage.
The Additional Principal Secretary of state Health and Family Welfare department Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra said, “Presently Odisha needs around 23.65 MT of medical oxygen every day. Five steel industries in the state have been producing around 375 MT of oxygen. As the government has sufficient stock of medical oxygen, surplus stocks are being shifted to other states for treatment of their COVID patients.”
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The steel industries in Odisha have been producing oxygen to meet their own in-house requirements. The production figure furnished by the government officials reflects the sum total of the oxygen produced.
On the other hand, the State government does not have adequate tankers required for the smooth transportation of medical oxygen. Empty tankers were brought to Odisha by a special aircraft Friday to send two consignments of oxygen to Visakhapatnam and Pune.
Local residents and intelligentsias wonder how oxygen will be supplied to the different dedicated hospitals and COVID care centres in remote areas of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nuapada and Mayurbhanj districts.
Notably, 29 tankers carrying 510 MT medical oxygen was dispatched under police escort to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Saturday morning. Eight more containers with medical oxygen will leave for different destinations later in the day. Odisha Police is committed to ensure a dedicated Green Corridor for quick movement of the vehicles.
PNN
