In a fine display of united stand against the ongoing second surge of Covid-19 pandmic, Odisha has taken the lead by supplying the much needed oxygen to the affected States
On the directions of the State Government industries and steel plants in Odisha have begun supplying medical oxygen to other States since last two days.
It may be recalled that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik recently had offered to help Delhi and Maharashtra to meet their requirement of medical oxygen with supplies from his State. Both the States are adversely affected in the second wave of the pandemic with oxygen shortage reported for Covid-19 affected patients in several hospitals and medical centres.
In order to ensure efficient and speedy delivery of the gas, the State police has made adequate arrangements to ensure uninterrupted and fast movement of the medical oxygen from Odisha to the deficit States. A special cell was formed with Additional Director (General Law & Order) YK Jethwa acting as nodal officer to coordinate the loading and transportation of oxygen.
The Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra observed: “We are committed to smooth and prompt movement of medical oxygen to needy States.”
Odisha the powerhouse of Oxygen
There are around 70 industries in Odisha, including 12 steel plants, many of which produce industrial oxygen. Among the prominent industries are the Steel Authority of India Ltd-run Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) at Angul and the Tata Steel Plant at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district. These plants use pure oxygen to convert a charge of liquid blast-furnace iron and scrap into steel.
Delhi will received 70 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) from Odisha of which 40 tonnes will come from RSP while 30 tonnes from Tata Steel Plant at Kalinganagar, said Mohapatra.
Angul-based JSPL plant has sent around 22 tonnes of medical oxygen to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Naveen Jindal, JSPL Chairman tweeted: “JSPL has more than 500 tonnes of liquid oxygen stock readily available at our Angul plant. We are waiting for the users to send their tankers. We can fill up on a first-come-first-serve basis or as per the priority decided by the Ministry of steel. We will soon supply oxygen to Batra Hospital, Medanta and Artemis Hospital in Delhi/NCR along with Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.”
Tata Steel tweeted: “Medical oxygen is critical to the treatment of COVID19 patients. Responding to the national urgency, we are supplying 200-300 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen daily to various state governments and hospitals. We are in this fight together and will surely win it.”
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Odisha CM’s office said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray thanked his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik for the steps taken by him to ensure supply of oxygen to his State. Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi CM in a telephonic conservation with Patnaik thanked him for the Odisha’s gesture.
