UP MLAs ask government to expedite oxygen supply
LUCKNOW: Cutting across party lines, the members of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly have urged the state government to expedite the supply of oxygen to government and private hospitals in their respective districts to save the lives of Covid-19 patients.
In a tweet, former Uttar Pradesh finance minister and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bareilly Cantonment MLA Rajesh Agarwal urged chief minister Yogi Adityanath to ensure the supply of oxygen to hospitals in Bareilly district.
Bareilly should not be considered less important than Lucknow and Gorakhpur divisions, he said, adding that the hospitals in Bareilly required 25-30 MT (metric tonnes) of oxygen daily. The chief minister’s office should give orders for the supply of oxygen to districts located in Bareilly division, he said.
Jawahar Lal Rajput, the BJP MLA from Garautha assembly constituency in Jhansi, said the hospitals in Jhansi were facing an oxygen crisis. There was an immediate need of oxygen to save lives, he added.
“I have written a letter to the chief minister and informed the officers in the chief minister’s office as well. On Monday, I talked to chief secretary RK Tiwari to expedite the supply of oxygen to Jhansi (from the stock) that Uttar Pradesh has received from Bokaro (Jharkhand) and the central government,” he said.
Rajput said that in order to expedite the supply of oxygen to hospitals in the seven districts of Bundelkhand region, the state government should run an Oxygen Express train to the oxygen plant at Rourkela Steel Plant in Odisha.
“In comparison to Bokaro, it will take less time to get lifesaving oxygen from the Rourkela Steel Plant for the Bundelkhand region,” he said.
BJP MLA from Bairia seat in Ballia Surendra Singh said, “I have sent a letter to the chief minister to ensure the rapid supply of oxygen to hospitals in Ballia district.
The hospitals in the districts are facing an acute oxygen crisis. The lives of a large number of patients are at risk.
Rather than centralized supply from Lucknow, the state government should decentralize the oxygen supply across the state. The Oxygen Express and tankers should unload oxygen in east UP, rather than in Lucknow. Valuable time will be lost in the supply of oxygen from Lucknow to the other districts,” he said.
Leader of Opposition and Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA from Bansdih in Ballia Ram Govind Chaudhary said, “I am regularly drawing the attention of the state government toward the oxygen crisis not only in Ballia, but also in various other districts of the state. I have told the chief minister that officers are misguiding him and giving wrong data regarding supply of oxygen to various districts. Since Saturday, the officers are saying that oxygen is reaching the hospitals in east UP. Three days have passed, but oxygen has not reached the hospitals. The state government should take the Opposition into confidence, hold meetings and make the oxygen supply transparent to instill confidence among the people,” he said.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA from Bhinga Aslam Raini said, “I am writing letters regularly to the chief minister’s office to draw attention to the lack of health facilities in the hospitals in Shravasti, Balrampur and Bahraich districts.”