The Railways on May 17 reached the milestone of carrying 10,000 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen, Railway Board Chairman Suneet Sharma said (Image: Railway Oxygen Express |Source: Inox Air)

Indian Railways plans to set up oxygen plants at 86 in-house medical facilities across the country. In a statement on May 18, the Ministry of Railways said it is “leaving no stone unturned in the fight against COVID-19”.

“Massive capacity enhancement is planned in 86 Railway hospitals across India. All Railway COVID hospitals (are) to be equipped with oxygen plants,” the statement read.

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As per the statement, four of these plants are already functional, while 52 have been sanctioned and another 30 are “under various stages of processing”.

To this end, in a letter dated May 4, 2021, General Managers have been delegated further power up to Rs 2 crore each, to sanction oxygen generation plants under the Railways’ machinery and plant (M&P) programme.

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COVID-19 | Centre planning oxygen plants in 86 Railway Hospitals

“This massive capacity enhancement in Railway Hospitals would usher in better infrastructure to handle medical emergencies,” it added.

The Railways on May 17 reached the milestone of carrying 10,000 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen, Railway Board Chairman Suneet Sharma said (Image: Railway Oxygen Express |Source: Inox Air)

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