Public sector giant Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has more than doubled its capacity to supply liquid medical oxygen (LMO) in the country. The daily delivery of LMO from its integrated steel plants situated at Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Rourkela (Odisha), Bokaro (Jharkhand), Durgapur and Burnpur (West Bengal) has been increased from 500 metric tonnes (MT) in the second week of April to more than 1,100 MT per day currently, the company said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The production and delivery are taking place 24×7 at SAIL plants, the press statement said.

The company has so far supplied around 50,000 MT of LMO. In the month of April, 2021, SAIL has delivered more than 17,500 MT LMO to 15 states across the country including the states in which the plants are located.

Till date, 14 “Oxygen Express” trains carrying more than 950 MT LMO have been loaded for various parts of the county from SAIL plants at Bokaro, Rourkela and Durgapur. SAIL plants have also received tankers, which have been airlifted and after loading have moved to their destinations by road and rail.

With the arrival of ISO tankers, SAIL facilities have delivered these tankers after suitable conversion and modifications at the delivery points. Production of LMO at SAIL facilities are being ramped up by optimizing process parameters.

In addition to supply of LMO, SAIL is going to set up additional 2500 hospital beds, outside its current medical facilities, with the support of gaseous oxygen brought by dedicated gas pipelines from the plants. These beds will use gaseous oxygen directly as an additional source of oxygen as the demand for Liquid Medical Oxygen is currently high, the company statement added.