TN receives 80 MT liquid oxygen, more in the pipeline
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu received 80 tonnes liquid medical oxygen through Oxygen Express from Durgapur in West Bengal during the early hours of Friday. Health Minister Ma Subramanian, HR&CE Minister PK Sekarbabu, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan and others received the oxygen consignment at Tondiarpet yard.
The liquid medical oxygen was safely de-canted into tankers in four hours and dispatched to various hospitals. The Container Corporation of India (Concor) has made elaborate arrangements at its Inland Container Depot in Tondiarpet, Chennai, for handling of oxygen trains said senior official from Concor.
“The respective authorities will handle oxygen express, and the distribution of oxygen to other districts and hospitals after unloading. The next few days are very challenging for the State,” said Health Minister Subramanian.
The Minister added that medical oxygen required for treatment of COVID patients was being brought from various parts of the country, as the hospitals have been instructed to ensure optimal use of oxygen as the demand is rising steadily.
Briefing reporters, Subramanian said Chief Minister MK Stalin was holding talks with the Centre on a daily basis to address the issues arising due to the pandemic surge in Tamil Nadu. To a query, the Minister said the 80 tonnes would be able to meet the demand for medical oxygen in Tamil Nadu “to an extent”, and added some more oxygen express trains were expected to arrive to meet the demand in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Oxygen Container Express with empty 4 x 20 feet Cryogenic Containers, departed to Orissa for filling of liquid medical oxygen and would return on Monday to Chennai with load of Liquid Medical Oxygen.
The Container Corporation of India, a Navratna company under the Ministry of Railways, said it has allocated and deployed high-speed wagon rakes to carry medical oxygen to Tamil Nadu. The oxygen container would run dedicatedly on round trip basis on signal free green corridor in the circuit between the States of West Bengal, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, it added in a statement.