CM Yediyurappa asks suppliers to pump more oxygen into Karnataka

BENGALURU: After 24 patients lost their lives in Chamarajanagara owing to oxygen shortage among other reasons, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa held an emergency meeting with oxygen manufacturers and suppliers in Bengaluru on Monday. As per the Chief Minister’s own estimate, the state requires approximately1,471 tonnes of oxygen per day given the spike in the number of Covid-19 cases. In his meeting, Yediyurappa said a ‘green corridor’ for oxygen transportation will come up in the state to ensure timely supply to hospitals. 

The state can manufacture 812 tonnes of oxygen per day, including from industrial sources. With many industries coming forward to convert industrial oxygen for medical purposes, the amount produced in the state has increased slightly. The state also gets supply from the Centre. The daily allocation was 300 metric tonnes till the last week of April. It went up to 800 metric tonnes after Yediyurappa, in the Chief Ministers’ meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanded an increase in the allocation of oxygen to the state along with the drug Remdesivir. The state is also expected to receive four tankers of liquid oxygen from Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. 

At the meeting, Yediyurappa asked officials to ensure minimal wastage of oxygen supplied by the Centre. “We have to reduce the time taken to refill empty oxygen tankers,” the CM said. Taking a cue from the Union Health Minister’s idea to explore the feasibility of converting existing nitrogen plants to produce oxygen, the state government is looking to convert nitrogen and argon tankers available for supplying oxygen instead. Given the shortage of manpower, the state is also looking to hire LPG tanker drivers to ferry oxygen tankers in emergencies.

An appeal has been made to manufacturers to coordinate with officials directly to ensure smooth supply of oxygen to hospitals. Meanwhile, the clinical expert committee on Covid-19 in the state has provided guidelines for minimising the wastage of oxygen. These guidelines also lay down the responsibility of the health team regarding the judicial use and the responsibility of the hospital administrators in monitoring and auditing oxygen use.