Maharashtra: Oxygen tankers are emergency vehicles, to have beacons

MUMBAI: In order to ease the movement of vehicles carrying oxygen for medical purposes, the state government has ordered that such vehicles should treated on a par with an ambulance or an emergency vehicle. This will mean these vehicles will have sirens on them, will get right of way and allowed to ply 24x7.
Meanwhile, the oxygen shortage that till now was felt in the satellite towns has hit Mumbai’s smaller and midlevel private Covid hospitals. A private agency increased the cost of each 250-litre oxygen cylinder from Rs 6,250 to Rs 9,000.
The state government has used powers under the Disaster Management Act to make these changes and it will be valid for a year. Based on demand-supply analysis, FDA said that against a daily production of 1,000 metric ton (MT) in the state, the requirement for Covid patients is 500 MT. Districts administrations have been asked to keep in touch with the state control room with their requirement and also conduct a daily audit of how much is required and to prevent wastage.
An FDA official said the shortage was primarily caused by a dearth of oxygen tankers for transport. “The shortage is particularly in the interiors where tankers take time to reach. Also, the state has around 160 tankers. Now, industrial mode tankers will be pressed into oxygen transportation after due process,” the official said.