The Maharashtra government on Friday issued a resolution approving the payment of Rs 1 crore as advance to the Railways for ferrying oxygen-laden tankers to the state from other parts of the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mumbai:

As per the government resolution, the state executive committee had approved the payment of the advance amount on May 6, as transportation of tankers through railways would continue for several more days in view of the oxygen shortage in the state.

The first 'Oxygen Express' carrying seven tankers of liquid medical oxygen had reached Maharashtra from Visakhapatnam on April 23.

Four of those tankers were offloaded at Nashik and three at Nagpur, considering the local demand at the time.