2nd O2 Express brings 60K litres of LMO
LUCKNOW: The second Oxygen Express reached the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow on Monday morning, bringing the much-needed relief to Uttar Pradesh amid a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The train was laden with 60,000 litres of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) in four oxygen tankers of 15,000 litres capacity each. It had left Bokaro in Jharkhand around 2pm on Sunday.
Government officials engaged in the high-profile operation said one oxygen tanker each was being rushed to Jhansi and Bareilly and the remaining two would be kept in Lucknow in order to meet the increased demand in the state capital.
The first oxygen train, laden with 30,000 litres of LMO, had arrived in Lucknow on Saturday.
“Another Oxygen Express arrived at 0640 hours on Monday. The train was loaded with four oxygen tankers of 15,000 litres capacity each,” said Sanjay Tripathi, divisional railway manager (DRM), Lucknow, Northern Railway (NR), who was part of the train operation. The oxygenladen tankers were allowed to de-board under the supervision of the transport department, the railways, the district administration and state government officials. They were then rushed to the allocated destinations.
“Operation Oxygen” is part of the state government’s move under which it had approached the railways for help in bringing LMO from Jharkhand, Bengal and Odisha in order to meet the increased demand in the state. The transport department has roped in around 40 oxygen-carrying tankers from across the state for the purpose.
The UP government took the step after the state witnessed a sudden rise in the demand of oxygen that is needed in the recovery from Covid-19 infections for some patients.
“Being two times faster than transporting LMO by road, we had approached the railways to bring oxygen from Jharkhand Bengal and Odisha in order to bring relief to UP districts at the earliest,” said Awanish Kumar Awasthi, additional chief secretary (Home) who was supervising the entire train operation.
He said the train operation would be a boon in meeting the increased oxygen demand in some UP districts.
Railway has pressed in RollOn-Roll-Off (RORO) services through which the road tankers with oxygen chambers are placed on flat wagons and transported to several destinations.
The first Oxygen Express train for Uttar Pradesh had brought liquid medical oxygen from Bokaro, halting first at Varanasi and then at Lucknow. About 15,000 litres of oxygen was unloaded in Varanasi itself. Besides, at least three oxygen tankers have arrived by road from Jharkhand to the Ramnagar industrial area in Varanasi’s neighbouring district of Chandauli so far.