The State government on Thursday told the Madras High Court that the Centre had allocated 519 tonnes of oxygen to Tamil Nadu every day under the National Oxygen Plan and it included 100 tonnes, from the eastern corridor (Odisha), which could not be drawn regularly due to transportation issues. Nevertheless, the State is able to manage the oxygen requirement at present through other sources, the government said.
Appearing before the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram said the oxygen containers received from Kalinga Nagar and Rourkela had to be sent back immediately for refilling. Stating that officers had been deputed to ensure smooth logistics, he hoped the assured supply from the eastern corridor would stabilise this week.
The A-G also submitted a status report filed by Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, who stated that the State had procured 500 oxygen cylinders from Singapore through air cargo and that another 1,650 cylinders were being brought to Chennai from Singapore through the sea route. The National Highways Authority of India, along with the Defence Research and Development Organisation, was also establishing 142 mini oxygen plants in the State.
After submitting the report, the A-G told the court that there appeared to be a ray of hope in the fight against COVID-19 since the number of positive cases being reported in Chennai on a daily basis had decreased from 6,991 on May 13 to 6,297 on May 19. He said the oxygen requirement was also manageable, and the government had begun distributing Remdesivir directly to private hospitals based on requirements.
The A-G assured the court that strict vigil was being maintained on sale of the anti-viral drug in the black market.
