Maruti Suzuki on Wednesday said it would advance its bi-annual maintenance by a month and shut down factories in Haryana to make oxygen available for medical needs. Similar decision has been taken by its parent company which owns the Suzuki Motor Gujarat plant.
“In the current situation, we believe that all available oxygen should be used to save lives. Accordingly, Maruti Suzuki has decided to advance its maintenance shutdown, originally scheduled for June, to May 1 to 9. Production in all factories will close for maintenance during this period. The company has been informed that Suzuki Motor Gujarat has taken the same decision for its factory,” it said in a statement.
Likewise, Hyundai Motor India Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Hyundai Motor India, announced a relief package of ₹20 crore for measures, including deploying multiple oxygen generation plants in hospitals across Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. The Foundation will also set up medicare facilities, infrastructure and provide support staff for immediate relief in collaboration with the State governments and hospitals.
Oxygen concentrators
Separately, home grown start-up Paytm said it was set to airlift 21,000 oxygen concentrators which were expected to reach India in the first week of May. Paytm said it received a contribution of ₹5 crore from citizens, which it matched to take the total contribution to ₹10 crore. “These devices would be immediately sent to government hospitals, COVID care facilities, private hospitals, nursing homes as well as Resident Welfare Associations,” it said.