Delhi Had Big Role In Current Oxygen Crisis

The Arvind Kejriwal government is responsible for Delhi’s current oxygen crisis in more ways than one, government sources have indicated. Pointing to the proposed oxygen plants in four hospitals that would be supported by the PM-Cares Covid fund, the sources said the Delhi government had not done its homework in this regard. Sources from the Ministry of Railways also said that even now, the Delhi government has not provided cryogenic tankers for the ‘Oxygen Express’.

The Delhi government dismissed it as “totally false statements” given by the center to “hide its abject failure to install PSA oxygen plants in Delhi.”

Four floors, one in each at Deen Dayal Upadhya Hospital, Lok Nayak Hospital, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Rohini Hospital, and Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital are expected to be completed by the end of April.

Plans for the plants were drawn up last year and tenders were delivered in October. But sources said the Delhi government delayed site preparation for these hospitals despite weekly reviews in November last year.

For Ambedkar Nagar Hospital, Dakshinpuri, the site was prepared by the state government until April 19. the center said.

The floors of five hospitals, Delhi said, were delivered in early March 2021 and only one was installed by the supplier, which did not respond.

“As for the remaining 2 hospitals, the plants have not even been received at the site. We are surprised to learn that the central government now makes the excuse that the site certificate is not available from the Delhi government as a reason for the delay. in plants. This has never been brought to the attention of the Delhi government and is an outright lie, “the Delhi government said in a statement.

Eight pressure swing absorption (PSA) oxygen generation plants are being installed in Delhi with the support of the PM-Cares fund. This would improve the medical oxygen capacity by 14.4 tons. The national capital does not have oxygen plants, a lagoon that has been highlighted when the fierce second wave of Covid is sweeping the city.

With the Delhi government signaling the shortage since Monday, accusing neighboring BJP-ruled states of blocking medical oxygen, the matter ended up in court. The center has accused the Delhi government of mismanaging oxygen distribution and sensationalizing the issue.

During the hearing on Saturday, when the Arvind Kejriwal government said it only received 297 of the 480 tons of oxygen in its quota and that the center did not meet court guidelines, Attorney General Tushar Mehta, who represented the center, said, “Let’s try and not be a crybaby.”

Over the past week, Covid patients have died in at least one Delhi hospital due to oxygen shortages. The court has promised to take action against anyone who blocks the oxygen supply. Vaccine shortages reported by several opposition-run states had irritated the center earlier this month.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said: “The inability of the Maharashtra government to act responsibly is beyond comprehension … The indifferent attitude of the state government has uniquely bogged down efforts across the country to combat the virus”. The minister had also accused the state of misleading people to divert attention from what he called its poor performance in controlling the spread of the virus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally made it clear that fighting the pandemic cannot be a political issue. In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address, Prime Minister Modi said today that the center is dedicated to pushing forward the efforts of state governments to control Covid. “To deal with this wave of Covid, I have held meetings with experts from many fields such as the pharmaceutical industry, oxygen production, etc.,” he said.