In the last 24 hours, India has reported over 260,000 new daily coronavirus cases and almost 1,500 deaths, the highest since the pandemic began. As scramble for oxygen begins and state after state report oxygen shortage which is needed to save lives of some COVID19 patients, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today, April 18, tweeted informing that “162 PSA [pressure swing adsorption] oxygen plants have been sanctioned by Government of India for installation in public health facilities in all States. These will augment medical oxygen capacity by 154.19 MT [metric tonnes].”
The ministry goes on to inform that “out of 162 PSA oxygen plants, 33 have been installed. By end of April, 2021, 59 will be installed. By end of May, 2021 80 will be installed.” This means only 20 per cent of the sanctioned oxygen plants have been installed. It is not clear how many of these installed plants are operational at present.
As per the healthy ministry’s tweet, of the 33 PSA oxygen plants installed, five are in Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three each in Chandigarh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand, two each in Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana; and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
The Union ministry notes that states have requested 100 additional plants which are also being sanctioned. “The entire cost of 162 PSA oxygen plants amounting to Rs 201.58 crore has been borne by the Central Government. This also includes 7 year maintenance cost to start from 4th year onwards after three years of warranty,” reads the ministry’s tweet.
Meanwhile, as the country is facing oxygen shortage amid the rising coronavirus cases in the second wave of the COVID19 pandemic, the Indian government has also floated its global tender to import 50,000 metric tonnes of oxygen. The bids opened on April 16 and will close on April 28.
A number of state governments, including Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, have been reporting medical oxygen shortage in their hospitals where serious COVID19 patients are being treated.
“Positivity rate increased from 24 per cent to 30 per cent in the last 24 hours. Less than 100 ICU beds left and there’s oxygen shortage,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he informed Health Minister Harsh Vardhan yesterday (April 17) and Home Minister Amit Shah today morning.
Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also said today morning that Delhi has been facing a shortage of medical oxygen and the Delhi government has requested the Centre to immediately increase its supply.
Yesterday, April 17, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi informing him of the oxygen shortage being felt in the state which is the worst affected state in the pandemic.
Also Read: Running out of breath as scramble for oxygen cylinders begins
Yesterday, Gaon Connection published its ground report from different parts of the country where oxygen shortage is being reported.
“Earlier a 110-120 litre pressure cylinder used to cost four hundred rupees, but now we ourselves are getting it for eight hundred. So, we are also selling it at four times the original price. I already have orders, but due to supply shortage, I am unable to meet the demand,” a commercial oxygen supplier from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, told Gaon Connection on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, about 150 km from Sitapur, in Unnao district, refilling of cylinders takes 15-20 hours, informed Manoj Sisodia, manager, Saraswati Medical College. This can seriously impact the availability of oxygen in case the number of cases soar, he said.
“There’s no shortage of oxygen cylinders in Unnao as of now. At present, there are one hundred and seventy nine patients in the COVID19 hospital. We have enough stock of oxygen now, but if the number of patients increases suddenly, the demand will be difficult to meet,” Sisodia told Gaon Connection.
Also Read: Ripple effect of COVID-19’s second wave in India being felt across the globe
The situation is similar in Barabanki district neighbouring Lucknow, which is witnessing a surge in COVID19 cases and has 461 containment zones.
“At present, there is enough stock of oxygen in the district but seeing the pace at which COVID19 cases are rising, it is certain that there will be a shortage of oxygen cylinders in the coming days,” BKS Chauhan, Chief Medical Officer, Barabanki, told Gaon Connection.
Meanwhile, the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh is witnessing similar issues. “We used to order liquid oxygen from Nagpur but it is not able to supply it to us anymore. So we are now dependent on states like Haryana and Chhattisgarh for our supplies. It is from Satna that districts like Rewa and Panna get their supplies,” Tripurari Singh, manager of an oxygen refilling plant in Satna, told Gaon Connection.
“Earlier there used to be demand for 400 cylinder in a week but now it has increased to around 600 cylinders,” he added.
