At the weekly Covid-19 review meeting held at Council Hall, Ajit Pawar said sirens should be installed on oxygen tankers to ensure speedy transport. (Representational)WITH availability of oxygen playing an important role in saving lives at Covid-19 hospitals, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has directed local authorities to install ambulance-like sirens on oxygen carrying tankers to ensure fast and unhindered transport.
On Friday, a divisional-level ‘Oxygen Supply and Control Committee’ was formed to oversee production and supply of oxygen and ensure there is no hoarding or sale on the black market.
Earlier, the district administration had directed oxygen manufacturers to ensure that 80 per cent of their output is supplied for medical use.
At the weekly Covid-19 review meeting held at Council Hall, Pawar said, “Patients from across the state are coming to Pune for Covid-19 treatment and it’s important that hospitals here have enough oxygen supply. For this purpose, sirens should be installed on oxygen tankers to ensure speedy transport. Also, the police department should be instructed to take measures so that no oxygen tanker has to spend extra time on the road,” said Pawar.
The Oxygen Supply and Control Committee formed is headed by Pune Zilla Parishad CEO Ayush Prasad with senior officials such as Joint Commissioner Food and Drug Administration S B Patil, Joint Director, Department of Industries SS Survase, District Surgeon Dr Ashok Nandapurkar and OSD to DCM Kaustubh Butala as members.