Delhi govt may cap O2 cylinder prices
The retail price of auto fuels increased on May 13 for the seventh time in the last nine days. According to Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), the price of diesel has increased from ₹80.73 per litre on May 3 to ₹82.61 on May 13 in Delhi and the price of petrol has increased from ₹90.4 per litre on May 3 to ₹92.05 per litre on May 13. Here’s what the prices look like in different parts of India. By
Sweta Goswami and Risha Chitlangia
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government is planning to cap the prices of oxygen cylinders in the Capital and has increased the number of procurement points for the public from 14 to at least 94, senior officials said on Wednesday.
“We are actively considering capping the prices of oxygen cylinders. On Tuesday, we held a meeting with all dealers, refillers and district magistrates to discuss the issue. A decision will be taken soon,” said Ashish Kundra, Delhi transport commissioner and officer-on-special duty (health).
A senior official who asked not to be named said that during Tuesday’s meeting, retailers said the rate for D-type cylinders should be capped at around ₹700 a unit, while the rate for refillers should be ₹350. The cost of a B-type cylinder, retailers said, should be around ₹250. The final rates are yet to be fixed, the official said.
Oxygen cylinders are categorised as types A to H, depending on their size and capacity, with A being the smallest. The B-type cylinders are usually used by individual patients, while D-type cylinders are used by hospitals in manifold rooms connected to the hospital’s main gas pipeline.
On average, Delhi has been receiving 579.25 metric tonnes (MT) of oxygen a day from the Centre, state data showed. This is lower than the 700MT the Supreme Court asked the Centre 48 of them are in Madhya Pradesh, 8 in Rajasthan, and 2 in Maharashtra to deliver to Delhi every day.
The decentralised pool of refill points should ease any oxygen bottlenecks, officials said.
Until recently, small hospitals, ambulances, and families of Covid-19
patients in home isolation, were queueing at these 14 refill points, resulting in long wait times. “This has been decentralised to some extent now with a central pool of cylinders, to which we have given all district magistrates access. To make cylinders more accessible, we have also identified at least 80 dealers or retailers who will be issued licences to sell cylinders. So, with these 80 dealers and 14 refillers, we will have a network of at least 94 authorised points where people can get oxygen cylinders,” Kundra said.
All these 94 points have been linked to the government’s online oxygen portal.
A Bawana-based dealer whose name and number were recently linked to the government portal said, “On May 10, we got permission to refill oxygen cylinders. We are asking for the IDS of the patient and the person who comes to refill the cylinder, along with a prescription.”
Another dealer, who asked not to be named, said, “We have been getting calls for oxygen supply ever since our name was put up on the website, but we can’t help them, because we are not getting oxygen supply.”
Abhishek Jha
But V Ashok, another dealer listed on the portal, said, “We are providing empty oxygen cylinders to people because we do not have clarity about oxygen supply. So, we are guiding those who come to us to the nearest oxygen refilling plant. I hope the government gives clarity on whether these dealers are allowed to refill cylinders, and sell in stores.”
The senior official quoted above said the government is getting in touch with all dealers, giving them licenses and clearances, and explaining the process to them.
“The dealers will have to get cylinders, refill them and sell them. They can include the transportation costs and minor profit margin. The government will soon cap the prices of these goods,” said the official.
The government is also considering the possibility of private storage units outside the city in towns such as Panipat and Soorajpur. “Oxygen storage capacities are also being created within Delhi. The team is working to create operational and strategic reserves. The government is also in the process of increasing the buffer capacity within the city,” a government official said.