State’s O2 demand to reach 900 MT by May 30: Minister
Transportation of oxygen from other states a challenge because of shortage of tankers: Sharma
JAIPUR: Rajasthan will need 900 metric tonnes of oxygen per day by May 30, health minister Raghu Sharma said, as an increasing Covid caseload is stretching hospital infrastructure to its limits and a shortage of the life-saving gas is wreaking havoc.
The demand for oxygen is now 310 MT per day, which is increasing every day. In addition to 125 MT oxygen from 24 airseparation units of the state, the Centre is providing 155 MT daily. The Centre has assured that the state will be provided oxygen and life-saving drugs in proportion to its demand.
Sharma said the demand of oxygen in the state has been estimated at 365 MT by April 30; 541 MT by May 9 and 900 MT by May 30.
“Since the oxygen supply is an issue related to transport, supply in sufficient quantity will be possible when we get tankers. We are in talks to buy oxygen from other states, but transportation is a big challenge for us. We will need 65 oxygen tankers by May 9,” he said.
A group of ministers, including Sharma, UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal and energy minister BD Kalla, met union ministers in Delhi on Tuesday over oxygen allocation and lifesaving drugs, such as Remdesivir.
“Three months back, the consumption of oxygen cylinders was 6500 per day, which now has increased to 31,425,” Sharma said.
The state government has allocated ₹2 crore to district collectors to purchase oxygen concentrators. The state is also expanding the oxygen cylinder capacity at 22 places – the capacity is being increased to 100 cylinders at places where the current capacity is of 35 cylinders.
Meanwhile, for the first time the death toll in a day crossed 100 mark on Tuesday. With 121 deaths reported on Tuesday, the toll in the state reached 3806.
Not only the hospitals are overwhelmed with Covid patients but also the crematoriums are overloaded.
Of the 121 deaths on Tuesday, maximum 22 were reported in Jodhpur, 21 in Jaipur and 14 in Udaipur. On March 23, the Covid death toll in the state was 2807. In 27 days of April, 993 patients lost their lives, according to the health department data.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot has said the Delhi visit of a group of three state cabinet ministers to meet Union ministers and central government officials over issues regarding oxygen and medical supplies was successful.
He said the ministers explained the current situation in the state to the central ministers
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121 and demanded increase in the supply of oxygen, tankers and medicines. Gehlot said the central authorities have understood the situation faced by the state and have assured full assistance.
Gehlot held a coronavirus review meeting on Tuesday night which was also attended by the three cabinet ministers who are in Delhi through video conference.
The chief minister, while expressing concern over the rising number of coronavirus cases and deaths related to it in the state, once again called upon the people to follow all the protocols to stay safe from infection.
Union minister Arjun Ram
Meghwal on Tuesday attacked Rajasthan CM Gehlot, accusing him of levelling false allegations against the Centre over the supply of medical oxygen and Remdesivir injections to the state.
He said the Centre has formed an empowered committee for the allocation and every state is being supplied oxygen according to its requirements. Contrary to the claim that only 80 metric tonnes of oxygen is being given to Rajasthan daily, more than 265 metric tonnes of the life-saving gas has been supplied to the state every day from April 20, said Meghwal.
Similarly, the state quota for Remdesivir injections has been doubled by the Centre, he claimed, amid a spurt in coronavirus cases.
Meghwal claimed that about a year ago, the Centre had allocated funds for oxygen plants and other resources to every state.despite it, the Rajasthan government did not set up any oxygen plant, he alleged. Had the state government been serious, it would have been producing 1,600 oxygen cylinders every day by now, he claimed.