Punjab CM writes to PM Modi and Amit Shah for 50 MT additional O2 allocation and 20 more tankers
Punjab oxygen shortage: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday sought the immediate intervention of both, the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister, to ensure uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen to the state, along with an additional allocation of 50 MT LMO from a nearby source and 20 additional tankers (preferably conducive to rail travel) for timely evacuation of LMO from Bokaro.
Captain Amarinder Singh sent out separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, as the number of Covid-19 patients on varying levels of oxygen support in the state went up to 10000.
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Expressing deep concern over the imminent loss of lives due to oxygen shortage across the state, the Chief Minister said with the mounting caseload, he was unable to increase Level 2 and Level 3 beds due to oxygen availability constraints.
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The state was facing the prospect of a shortage of oxygen beds, he said, pointing out that the Government of India had expressed its inability to even allow Punjab’s local industry to undertake commercial import of LMO from Pakistan through the Wagah-Attari border, which is geographically proximate.
Further, despite the assurance that “adequate supply would be ensured to us from alternate sources, I regret to point out that this has not happened", said Captain Amarinder.
The total allocation of LMO from outside the state is currently 195 MT, of which 90 MT is from Bokaro in eastern India. The balance 105 MT comes from LMO facilities in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
However, Punjab is not getting its daily allocated quota, said the Chief Minister. The existing backlog for Punjab from these LMO facilities is 5.6 MT from Panipat (Haryana), 100 MT from Sela Qui, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), and 10 MT from Roorkee, he added.
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