Uttar Pradesh government sends highest single-day Oxygen to hospitals

LUCKNOW: The state government supplied 1,032 tons of oxygen to hospitals and refilling centres on Thursday, the highest quantity ever to be distributed in Uttar Pradesh.
The government also cautioned hospitals against projecting an artificial shortage of oxygen. A government spokesperson said: “Efforts are being made to create an artificial scarcity of beds and oxygen by various private hospitals in different districts. It has also been reported that some private hospitals are charging more than the fees fixed by the government. These types of activities are criminal and strict action has been taken against a few. No harassment of the patients and their families will be accepted in any way.”
Out of the total oxygen supplied on Thursday, 612 tons was supplied only through the refilling system. Another 10 tons of oxygen was supplied to the Covid hospital set up by DRDO in Varanasi for trial purposes. The hospital is expected to become operational soon.The government was expecting two Oxygen Express trains to reach by Friday night, and another 80 tons of oxygen from Jamnagar in Gujarat which is scheduled to reach on Saturday.
On Saturday, Noida Authority will also be issuing global tenders for cryogenic oxygen containers.
Currently, 89 oxygen tankers are being used in the state, along with 400 ton capacity tankers which have been provided by the Centre. Work is in progress to set up oxygen plants in state-run medical colleges and institutions, and all private medical colleges and institutes. Chief secretary RK Tiwari is reviewing this work daily to ensure that the project is completed at the earliest. “Several oxygen refilling plants which had been shut down have been revived and MSME units have started a dedicated oxygen supply for medical use in hospitals,” said a government spokesperson.
The government has provided more than 4,370 oxygen concentrators to districts till now.
The home department, meanwhile, is working out a plan of action on oxygen supply by reviewing demand, availability and how to maintain a balance between the two on a daily basis.
“With the help of the Indian Army, a 500-bed Covid Hospital of L-2 category is being built in Agra. We are also in the process of adding beds at SGPGI and KGMU. The CM has said that we have to double the current capacity of beds across all districts,” the spokesperson added.