Kejriwal writes to chief ministers for oxygen Oxygen crisis: Delhi High Court asks AAP and Centre to work in tandem

Kejriwal writes to chief ministers for help, 20 patients die at Jaipur Golden Hospital

The high court also directed all suppliers and re-fillers of oxygen to give complete details to the AAP government about the oxygen supplied by them to various hospitals treating Covid-19 patients.: PTI

TT Bureau, Agencies   |   New Delhi   | 24.04.21: Delhi High Court asked the Centre and the Delhi government to coordinate efforts to ensure medical oxygen was made available to hospitals treating Covid-19 patients on Saturday, prompting chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to seek the help of his counterparts in other states.

 The high court observed that citizens cannot be left to die, making it clear that efforts which the Delhi government has to make in this regard cannot be trivialised and they should not leave it entirely to the central government.

"The Delhi government should, therefore, make all out efforts for procurement of cryogenic tankers from whatever source they can be made available, and look for all possible avenues. As aforesaid, the sub-Group in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) shall also help in this regard, and we expect the officers of both the governments to interact and coordinate in this regard," a bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said.

The bench was conducting a special hearing, that lasted over three hours, on the escalating oxygen crisis.

 Chief Minister Kejriwal urged his counterparts in other states to provide oxygen to the national capital, saying all available resources are proving to be inadequate owing to the severity of COVID-19.

"I am writing to all CMs requesting them to provide oxygen to Delhi, if they have spare. Though Central govt is also helping us, the severity of corona is such that all available resources are proving inadequate," Kejriwal tweeted in the evening.

Kejriwal's request for supply of oxygen came following the death of 20 patients in Jaipur Golden Hospital here as Delhi's desperate hunt for the life-saving gas continued amid rising Covid-19 cases.

The deaths at Jaipur Golden took place when the hospital was waiting for oxygen to be replenished, officials said on Saturday morning.

The high court also directed all suppliers and re-fillers of oxygen to give complete details to the AAP government about the oxygen supplied by them to various hospitals treating Covid-19 patients, observing that there has to be "transparency" on this aspect.

It said the information to be furnished by the suppliers to the nodal officer of Delhi shall include how much oxygen was supplied to each of the hospitals and when.

"We direct all suppliers, who supply oxygen to Delhi, to provide complete details to the nodal officer about the quantity of oxygen supplied to each hospital and the timing," the bench said.

The high court also directed the Delhi government to communicate to all the hospitals and nursing homes here the details of its new team -- comprising 10 IAS and 28 DANIPS officers -- constituted for monitoring the oxygen distribution in the national capital.

Delhi, one of the worst-hit cities in the country right now, has been reporting over 20,000 cases for the past four days. On Friday, the national capital touched a grim milestone of recording 348 deaths, while 24,331 new Covid-19 infections were registered. 

IAF picks up containers for oxygen storage from Singapore

The Indian Air Force on Saturday picked up from Singapore four cryogenic containers for storage of liquid oxygen, officials said.

The containers were airlifted from Singapore by C17 heavy-lift aircraft of the IAF.

The aircraft with four cryogenic oxygen containers landed at Panagarh airbase in West Bengal at around 4:30 pm, the officials said.

India is struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus infection and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds in view of a rising number of COVID-19 cases.

Since Friday, the IAF has been airlifting empty oxygen tankers and containers to various filling stations across the country to speed up the distribution of the much-needed medical oxygen in treating COVID-19 patients.

The IAF was also transporting essential medicines as well as equipment required by the designated COVID-19 hospitals in various parts of the country.

"The Indian Air Force is taking sorties to reduce the transportation time of Oxygen and other critical supplies. One C-17 has reached Changi airport in Singapore today. These containers of cryogenic oxygen tanks will help boosting the oxygen supply in the country," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's office tweeted earlier.