DELHI TO IMPORT OXYGEN PLANTS, CRYOGENIC TANKERS FROM FRANCE, THAILAND
NEW DELHI: With Delhi facing a crippling shortage of life-saving oxygen, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said his government will import 18 cryogenic tankers from Thailand and 21 ready-to-use oxygen plants from France.
He said the situation has improved significantly in the past two days after the chaos witnessed last week due to an oxygen shortage.
Due to a shortage of tankers, the Delhi government was also facing problems in transporting its oxygen quota decided by the Centre, the chief minister said.
Within a month, the Delhi government will set up 44 oxygen plants at various hospitals, including 21 that will be imported from France. The Centre will install eight oxygen plants by April 30, Kejriwal said during an online briefing.
He thanked the Centre for providing five oxygen tankers to Delhi.
The Delhi government has urged the Centre to provide Indian Air Force aircraft for bringing oxygen tankers from Bangkok. The tankers will start arriving in Delhi from Wednesday, he stated.
“We are in talks with them and have received a positive response so far,” he said.
Kejriwal, who had sought the help of chief ministers of other states and the country’s top industrialists to resolve the oxygen crisis in the national capital, said “tremendous” cooperation has been received, with many of the contributors wishing not to be named.
Saying that the current Covid-19 wave is extremely dangerous and contagious, he pointed to the growing demand for ICU beds for serious patients.
The Delhi government will add 1,200 ICU beds by May 10, he added.