In continuous touch with foreign embassies: MEA COVID: FRANCE DELIVERS 28 TONNES OF MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO INDIA
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi urges all not to hoard essential supplies, including oxygen
New Delhi, May 2: The ministry of external affairs on Sunday said it is in continuous touch with all foreign embassies in India and is responding to their medical demands, especially those related to Covid-19.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the response to medical demands of the embassies included facilitating treatment in hospital even as he urged all not to hoard essential supplies, including oxygen.
Earlier, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar hit out at Congress leader Jairam Ramesh after he said on Twitter that the youth wing of the Congress was attending to
SOS calls from foreign embassies and wondered whether the MEA was sleeping.
Ramesh
also
shared
a video posted on Twitter by Indian Youth Congress national president Srinivas B.V. that showed a mini pickup van entering the embassy of the Philippines in Delhi, carrying oxygen cylinders.
“The MEA checked with the Philippines Embassy. This was an unsolicited supply as they had no Covid cases. Clearly for cheap publicity by you know who. Giving away cylinders like this when there are people in desperate need of oxygen is simply appalling,” Jaishankar tweeted. “Jairamji, MEA never sleeps; our people know across the world. MEA also never fakes; we know who does,” he said in another tweet.
Srinivas tweeted the video with a caption “#SOSIYC members at Embassy of the Philippines in New Delhi.” In his comments,
Ramesh complimented the Indian Youth Congress.
“While I thank @IYC for its stellar efforts, as an Indian citizen I'm stunned that the youth wing of the opposition party is attending to SOS calls from foreign embassies. Is the MEA sleeping @DrSJaishankar?,” he tweeted.
Srinivas also shared a video of his team supplying oxygen cylinders to the New Zealand High Commission and thanked the IYC team for the quick relief.
The New Zealand High Commission tweeted, “We are trying all sources to arrange for oxygen cylinders urgently and our appeal has unfortunately been misinterpreted, for which we are sorry.” —
New Delhi, May 2: France on Sunday delivered to India 28 tonnes of readyto-use medical supplies including eight large oxygen plants as part of the first phase of its solidarity mission to the country which has been grappling with record coronavirus cases. The French embassy said each of the eight plants can continuously supply oxygen to a 250-bed hospital round-the-clock for a dozen years and that they produce medical oxygen from ambient air.
“The oxygen plants will be delivered to 8 Indian hospitals, 6 in Delhi, one in Haryana and one in Telangana, based on needs as identified by the Indian authorities,” the French embassy said in a statement on Saturday.
A special cargo flight brought the supplies to Delhi from France. French ambassador Emmanuel Lenain said more supplies will come soon from France and that both countries stand together in this fight against the pandemic.
The embassy said the medical supplies were worth more than `17 crore. —