Karnataka still not getting its full quota of oxygen

BENGALURU: Despite emergency supply from the Centre, many hospitals in several Karnataka districts, including Bengaluru Urban, continue to grapple with a severe shortage of medical oxygen.
In a video conference with chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday, several deputy commissioners requested additional supply of the resource to tide over the crisis. While the state government has not shared any data on precisely how much it has received from the Centre, it has been claiming that the central government has heeded its request and is distributing adequate supply.
But a TOI reality check threw up a very different scenario. Two weeks ago, the Karnataka high court had ordered the Centre to supply 1,200 tonnes of liquid oxygen to the state every day. The Supreme Court had also, on May 8, upheld the HC order.
Officials said the Centre increased the state’s allocation to 1,015 tonnes per day from May 11 with an assurance to increase it to 1,200 tonnes in a few days. However, all that the Centre has allocated and supplied to the state is 800 tonnes.
Confirming this, Munish Moudgil, senior IAS officer who is also nodal officer for supply of oxygen said: “Practically we are getting, on average, around 800 tonnes of oxygen everyday as against allocation of 1,015 tonnes. This has left us with a hand-tomouth situation as far as oxygen availability is concerned.” He said efforts are on to enhance supply.
Jagadish Shettar, industries minister, who is incharge of oxygen supply, said the daily requirement of medical liquid oxygen is around 1,400 tonnes and the state would be comfortable if it receives 1700 tonnes. The demand has fallen slightly over the past week as Covid-19 cases are coming down in Bengaluru for the past few days.
Many DCs highlighted the shortage of oxygen during their video conference with Yediyurappa. Minor irrigation minister JC Madhuswamy even expressed his displeasure over the government not meeting the oxygen demand of Tumakuru district, which he is in-charge of.
An official from the industries department said one reason for the allocationdemand-supply mismatch is that the Centre has allocated supply for Karnataka from Odisha. “Since it takes a minimum of two days to bring oxygen from Odisha to Karnataka, it is difficult to ensure consistent supply. This is causing the problem. The shortage of oxygen tankers is only exacerbating the issue,” the official said.
Karnataka had requested the Centre to allow it to use whatever oxygen is generated within the state. This will not only save time and transportation expenses but will also help with planning distribution. However, the Centre is yet to respond. Part of what the state generates is being shipped to Andhra Pradesh and other states under the Centre’s allocation plan. Officials say the state produces around 920 tonnes of the resource every day.