Bhel starts oxygen supply to hospitals near its Bhopal and Haridwar plants
Premium- Companies ranging from steelmakers to refiners to logistics firms are extending a helping hand by retooling processes to produce oxygen
To help meet the acute shortage of medical oxygen in the country, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel)—India’s largest power equipment maker—has started supplying medical oxygen to hospitals nears its plants in Bhopal and Haridwar, the state-run firm said on Sunday.
“Bhel’s manufacturing plants located at Bhopal and Haridwar have started supply of oxygen to hospitals in their vicinity for meeting the surge in demand due to the prevailing crisis situation," Bhel said in a statement.
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2 min read . 09:57 AM ISTThis comes in the backdrop of companies ranging from steelmakers to refiners to logistics firms extending a helping hand by retooling their processes to produce oxygen.
With 16 manufacturing units and around 33,500 staff, Bhel accounts for 53% of India’s installed power generation capacity in the conventional space, producing the entire range of power plant equipment ranging from thermal, gas, hydro and nuclear power projects.
“Catering to the daily increasing demand of oxygen, Bhel’s Bhopal plant is supplying more than 6,000 cu. m of oxygen gas daily to hospitals in Bhopal area. The unit supplied a record 975 cylinders on 23 April 2021. The Haridwar plant is upgrading its infrastructure to be able to supply about 16,000 cu. m of oxygen per day for medical use. It will, shortly, be able to supply about 2,200 cylinders per day as against the capacity of 700 cylinders per day at present," the statement added.
There is an acute crisis of oxygen availability in the country amid a surge in covid infections, with hospital beds and medicines running out.
The situation is alarming with the reported deaths of critically ill covid-19 patients due to low oxygen in the national capital.
Several other hospitals continued to send SOS signals social media seeking help in procuring medical oxygen.
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“This oxygen is supplied from captive oxygen plants, which have been installed to meet production requirements, in these two units. Further efforts are in progress for creating oxygen production capacity in other units of the company also," the statement said.
The government on Saturday waived basic customs duty and health cess on imported oxygen and related equipment for three months, effective immediately.
To step up production and availability and meet the rising demand of oxygen, the government has decided to grant full exemption from basic customs duty and health cess on import of oxygen and related equipment for three months.
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