In the midst of the growing infection of the Coronavirus in the country, the Government of India is constantly making efforts to overcome the lack of oxygen and to ensure its smooth availability. In this sequence, the Center has given permission to the Uttar Pradesh government to set up oxygen plants in 37 districts.
After getting approval from the central government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed the officials to set up these plants at the earliest. CM Adityanath has said that our goal is to increase oxygen production from 743 tonnes per day to more than 800 tonnes. He informed that IIT Kanpur, BHU, AKTU, MMTU Gorakhpur, and Motilal Nehru Regional Engineering College districts of Prayagraj will audit the demand and supply of oxygen to enable real-time monitoring of oxygen.
Apart from this, CM Adityanath also informed that empty tankers of oxygen are being transported through Railways and Air Force. Filled tankers are being brought to the state through the Oxygen Express. A spokesperson of the Uttar Pradesh government said that 4370 oxygen concentrators have been made available in the districts, giving 20 such oxygen concentrators to each community health center.
Increase in Medical Oxygen Production
During the first wave of Coronavirus infection, the peak demand for oxygen was also 3000 tonnes per day, which has increased in this second wave. Industrial houses like Reliance, Tata, Adani, and Jindal are helping to cope with this increased demand for oxygen.
Apart from this, the Government of India has allocated funds from the PM Cares Fund for the purchase of 713 in the first phase, 500 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen generator plant in the second phase, and 1 lakh oxygen concentrator. After these efforts, the availability of medical oxygen in the country has increased to 9,200 tonnes per day.