Soren writes to Guj CM to ensure delivery of oxygen equipment
Chief minister (CM) Hemant Soren on Monday wrote to his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani, requesting him to intervene and ensure timely delivery of medical oxygen-related equipment such as tanks, cylinders and vapourisers that were reportedly stuck with manufacturers in Gujarat
Chief minister (CM) Hemant Soren on Monday wrote to his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani, requesting him to intervene and ensure timely delivery of medical oxygen-related equipment such as tanks, cylinders and vapourisers that were reportedly stuck with manufacturers in Gujarat.
“My sincere request to the Gujarat CM to take cognizance of the delay in delivery of liquid medical oxygen tanks, cylinders and vapourizers from manufacturers in Gujarat. In this hour of crisis, it will be good if we all could work together, ensuring timely service,” Soren said.
In the letter, Soren said Jharkhand was an oxygen surplus state. “Unfortunately, we are struggling with flow constraints in the supply-chain due to paucity of oxygen cylinders despite having refillers available in Jharkhand. I have been informed that many of our orders of LMO (liquid medical oxygen) tanks, vapourizers and cylinders are pending with manufacturers in Guajarat,” he said in the letter.
Through the letter, Soren sought the Gujarat CM’s assistance in getting the orders delivered. “This will allow us to make oxygen available to hospitals and subsequently the people who desperately need it,” he further said in the letter.
Earlier on Sunday, the CM inspected two oxygen refilling plants in Ranchi to take stock of the situation capacity of the plants to produce oxygen. The plant operators raised the issue of pending orders with Gujarat manufacturers and Soren assured them to deal with the issue, officials said.
Many oxygen plant operators told the CM that they will double oxygen refilling and supply if they get delivery of orders from Gujarat.
Last week, the CM claimed there was no shortage of oxygen production in the state, as it produces more than 550 tonnes of oxygen daily against the requirement of 100 tonnes. However, shortage of oxygen cylinders posed a challenge. The state has a mere 8,739 medical oxygen cylinders.
However, the state was trying to increase the number of medical oxygen cylinders from various sources. Officials said they were also trying if they could use industrial oxygen cylinders for medical purposes. Jharkhand has around 17,000 industrial cylinders.