Additional 5 metric tonne of oxygen per day allocated to state, which plans to seek extra central allocation
Panaji: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said the central government has allocated to Goa additional 5 metric tonne of oxygen per day.
Speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’ on Thursday, Sawant said that Centre’s allocation of additional 5 metric tonne of oxygen to the state has pushed up the availability of medical oxygen to 26 metric tonne per day.
“Right now the government has focused on managing oxygen supply to hospitals and working on tapping sources for more oxygen,” he elaborated.
The state will constitute a committee to carry out audit of oxygen availability and supply in the state as advised by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The state is planning to ask for a hike in allocation of medical oxygen from the Centre, an informed government source said on Thursday.
The source disclosed that central allocation of liquid medical oxygen to the state has recently been increased by five metric tonne per day, from 21 metric tonne per day to 26 metric tonne per day.
“Looking at the growing demand for oxygen cylinders, even after the allocation, plans are afoot to ask for extra central allocation,” said the source.
According to the government source, the state’s supply position of medical oxygen has improved lately after local industries units started providing medical oxygen.
Big companies are presently providing medical oxygen in addition to the three-four existing suppliers.
A private unit owner based at Corlim, supplying medical oxygen to the Goa Medical College and other hospitals, said that he has increased his oxygen supply in the state by bringing in the lifesaver from Karnataka.
“Each day we are getting 15 metric tonne of liquid medical oxygen from Bellary for which the state government is providing the infrastructure support,” said Sanjeev Naik, director of Scoop Industries.
He disclosed that the unit is presently supplying daily 3,200 oxygen cylinders to the GMC and other local hospitals.
“Demand for oxygen from home quarantined patients in the state has also increased. In addition to oxygen cylinders to the GMC, I am also selling about 50 cylinders daily to home quarantined patients,” Naik disclosed.
The unit so far sold about 500 oxygen cylinders (returnable) to coronavirus patients in home isolation.
Across states, there has been an acute shortage of medical oxygen from the coronavirus infected.
In Goa also, the demand for medical oxygen has shot up drastically.