Oxygen Express chugs off to Mumbai from Vizag

VISAKHAPATNAM: Oxygen express, Indian Railways’ roll on-roll of (Ro Ro) service with seven cryogenic tankers, which arrived from Navi Mumbai at 3 am on Thursday, chugged off from Vizag at 10:05 pm with a total 100 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO).

Initially, the train was taken to the ramp to roll off the tankers from flat wagons to fill liquid oxygen at Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL). The process of filling liquid medical oxygen was completed before 9 pm and required security checks were conducted.  Of the seven cryogenic tankers, four are of 16 tonnes capacity each and three are of 13 tonnes capacity. 

According to sources, filling of liquid medical oxygen into all seven tankers was over late in the evening. 
Earlier, before the arrival of the Oxygen Express, the ramp was made ready in a record time to roll off tankers from wagons. An approach road was also laid for smooth passage of  the tankers to the air separation plant at the Vizag steel plant. The RINL, which has a facility to store 7,000 tonnes of LMO, has a stock of 3,500 tonnes of LMO, sources said. 

On Thursday, 100 tonnes of LMO each was given to Maharashtra and AP. Since April 13, when supply of oxygen was started from RINL in this fiscal year, 870 tonnes of liquid oxygen was supplied — 770 tonnes to AP and 100 tonnes to Maharashtra, sources told TNIE.

Air separation plant (ASP) at RINL has five units of oxygen extraction plants for 7.3 mtpa steel plant. Of them, three units are of 550 tonnes/day capacity and two units are of 600 tonnes/day capacity. Every day on an average, ASP produces 2,600 tonnes of Oxygen gas and 100 tonnes of liquid Oxygen.The liquid oxygen of 100 tonnes is being given for medical purposes. Sources said oxygen was an important raw material in steel production as it refines the hot metal produced from blast furnaces.

Agitators upbeat 

The agitating steel plant employees are in an upbeat mood as the plant, which is facing privatisation threat, has come to the rescue of the country during a pandemic. President of recognised steel plant  union and convener of the parirakshana committee J Ayodhyaram said the gesture of the navratna PSU will go a long way and may force the Centre to rethink on its decision of strategic sale of RINL and other PSUs. Leaders of the Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee visited the air separation plant where LMO was loaded into waiting tankers from Maharashtra.

VSP selling O2 at production cost  

The VSP was selling a tonne of liquid oxygen for Rs 11,000 whereas private industries sell the same quantity at a rate somewhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh.  VSP, with social responsibility, sells the LMO for the production cost, President of recognised steel plant union said. 

Rethink decision: Chiru to Centre 

Actor Chiranjeevi questioned the wisdom of the Centre’s decision to sell the Vizag steel plant, which proved its strength by supplying oxygen to states hit by Covid. He said in a tweet that the Centre should rethink its decision to privatise the steel plant.