Now, refill oxygen cylinder by applying through Delhi govt’s online portal

NEW DELHI:  To help people who are struggling to find medical oxygen for Covid patients in home isolation, the Delhi government has launched an online arrangement for refilling the empty cylinders.  The system will start functioning from Thursday.  A person who wants to fill the cylinder will need to apply for refilling through the government’s website (https://oxygen.jantasamvad.org) and submit a photo identification, Aadhaar details, patient’s Covid test report and other documents if available. The applicant will also be required to inform the actual quantity of oxygen needed.  

After scrutiny, the applicant will be issued a pass to procure the gas. The order issued by divisional commissioner of Delhi, Sanjeev Khirwar, on Wednesday said that district magistrates (DMs) would assign adequate number of staff to scrutinise the applications and issue the e-passes. “This may be accorded top priority,” said the order.

According to availability of stock with the dealer, the DM will issue a pass bearing the date, time and the address of the dealer from where the oxygen cylinder can be issued or exchanged.   Amid short supply of oxygen in the city, relatives and friends of Covid patients have been running from pillar to post to procure the life-saving gas. Every day serpentine queues are seen outside the refilling centres and plants.

It will be the DM’s responsibility to check whether a filled oxygen cylinder is available with a re-filler or dealer. “The DMs shall identify dedicated dealers or depots to distribute such cylinders to the individuals who shall not be redirected to refilling plants under any circumstances. The DMs shall ensure that the dealers regularly get their cylinders refilled from the designated refilling plants,” says the order. 

Khirwar also directed the DMs to ensure distribution of lump-sum allocation is done judiciously and equitably among individuals, any non-Covid hospitals, nursing homes, ambulances and ‘SOS’ cylinders of Covid hospitals running on liquid medical oxygen (LMO).  Each district has been assigned one re-filler for accessing its lump-sum allocation and the DM concerned have been directed to supervise the management.