Keeping guard up: 19 oxygen plants to open in Delhi by end of week

NEW DELHI: By the end of this week, Delhi government will get at least 19 more oxygen plants to keep the capital prepared to fight the next Covid-19 wave, if any. The government has already installed three storage centres, each 57 metric tonne in capacity, and work is undergoing on a war footing to set up more.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday visited a 57 metric tonne oxygen storage and generation centre in northwest Delhi’s Siraspur and said oxygen infrastructure was being created at various places in the city so that people didn’t have to struggle in case of a third wave.
“Delhi government is rapidly making arrangements in case a third wave comes. In the second wave, shortage of oxygen came out as the biggest challenge due to which people of Delhi had to struggle a lot for a few days. Therefore, the preparations for adequate oxygen supply are being made so that in case a third wave emerges, there should be no shortage of oxygen,” Kejriwal said.
A cryogenic tank of 57 metric tonne is being installed at Siraspur along with an oxygen generation plant with a production capacity of 12.5 tonne per day. “Three oxygen storage tanks of 57 metric tonne capacity each, a total of 171MT, have been installed in Delhi,” the chief minister said. Besides Sirsapur, two other storage centres have been built in Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital and DDU Hospital.
Delhi reported major oxygen shortage when the second Covid-19 wave had peaked towards April-end and some Covid patients undergoing treatment in hospitals died during this period. The supply of oxygen was much less than the demand and distribution issues aggravated the crisis. This has prompted Delhi government to plan adequate oxygen supply for any future requirement.
“Two oxygen generation plants are to be set up whose combined capacity will be 13,500 metric tonne,” Kejriwal said. “Oxygen facilities are being created in various places in Delhi; 19 more plants are to be inaugurated within a day or two.”
He added, “All over Delhi, facilities for oxygen storage, oxygen generation are being created. We faced a lot of problem regarding tankers when we had to get oxygen from Haryana and other states. We did not have tankers. So we are also getting tankers. All preparations are in full swing.”
Delhi government officials have been engaging with experts for oxygen management so that the city can be prepared even if 37,000 fresh Covid cases are reported on a daily basis and the number of hospitalised patients increases again. The government is trying to ensure that there is no death due to oxygen shortage, said a source.
The buffer liquor medical oxygen storage capacity will be enhanced by 421MT, and the liquid medical oxygen storage capacity will be increased to have at least one-day buffer even during the peak demand.