As demand drops, BSL curtails O2 supply to 11 states

Bokaro: As Covid-19 cases have reduced considerably throughout the country and the demand for oxygen has gone down, the Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL) has curtailed its supply of liquid medical oxygen to 11 states.
BSL’s chief of communication Manikant Dhan said, “BSL had supplied 7,375 MT of liquid medical oxygen to 11 states when the second wave of the pandemic was at its peak in May. But now the demand has gone down and last month, BSL had to supply only 601MT of oxygen to three states -- Bihar (105 MT), Uttar Pradesh (210 MT) and Madhya Pradesh (80 MT).”
Upon directives of the Union ministry of steel, all the five units of Steel Authority of India Limited had diverted their liquid oxygen for medical use. BSL had to supply oxygen to Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Of the 11 states, the most amount of oxygen was supplied to UP (5,381 MT) through special trains. Bihar received 4,092 MT, Madhya Pradesh required 2,203 MT, Punjab 1,400 MT and West Bengal got 1,099 MT.
Oxygen from the BSL plant was dispatched daily through rail and road. Several cryogenic tankers were airlifted by Indian Air Force’s cargo planes from Ranchi’s Birsa Munda International Airport. The PSU was also providing free oxygen to government and private hospitals in Bokaro.