New Delhi: After a number of hospitals sent SOS for the oxygen supply earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday urged the Centre with folded hands for more of its supply. He said that Delhi requires 976 tons of oxygen daily but we’ve been allotted only 490 tons of oxygen which is not sufficient.
“There is a major issue of oxygen. SOS is coming from all hospitals. We’ve spoken in courts and written to the Centre that Delhi requires 976 tons of oxygen daily, but we’ve been allotted only 490 tons of oxygen. Yesterday we received only 312 tons. How will this work,” Kejriwal said in a statement.
However, he urged the decision-makers with folded hands to provide oxygen to Delhi as soon as possible.
There is a major issue of oxygen. SOS is coming from all hospitals. We've spoken in courts & written to the Centre that Delhi requires 976 tons of oxygen daily but we've been allotted only 490 tons of oxygen. Yesterday we received only 312 tons. How will this work?: Delhi CM pic.twitter.com/WNWJK3i5Li
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2021
“Prepared 5000 beds at Radha Soami Centre but only 150 functional as there’s no oxygen. Prepared 1300 beds at Commonwealth Games and Yamuna Sports Complex. Prepared 2500 beds in Burari. If we get oxygen today, there will be 9000 oxygenated beds in Delhi within 24 hours,” he added.
The development comes after 8 COVID-19 patients, including the HOD of gastroenterology department, of Batra Hospital died due to oxygen shortage. Hospitals across the national capital had sent out SOS messages last week about depleting supplies of oxygen. The Delhi government has maintained that the city is not getting its allocated quantity of the life-saving gas.
On the other hand, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said the second Oxygen Express for Delhi will carry the life-saving gas from West Bengal’s Durgapur. The first such train arrived in Delhi from Chhattisgarh carrying 70 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen.
“Oxygen tanks are being loaded from Durgapur, West Bengal on Oxygen Express to provide Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) for patients in Delhi,” Goyal said in a tweet.
This will be the first Oxygen Express which will carry the oxygen in containers provided by Singapore which were received at the container corporation terminal near Durgapur. The containers were directly loaded on flat wagons of the Oxygen Express and departed at around 12:45 pm for Delhi, officials said, adding that it will take the train around 18 hours to reach the national capital.