‘Human lives at stake’, HC tells Centre to divert oxygen for industries to hospitals

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (April 20) urged the Centre to divert oxygen from industries to hospitals to meet the ever-rising demand from COVID patients, especially in the national capital.

“Industries can wait. Patients cannot. Human lives are at stake,” a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said to the Union government.

Oxygen therapy is considered the most effective treatment to reduce the severity of COVID infection.

The HC bench cited a conversation with doctors at Ganga Ram Hospital, who were being forced to reduce oxygen being given to Covid-19 patients admitted there as there was a scarcity of oxygen.

“Which are these industries whose supplies of oxygen cannot be curtailed,” the court asked the Union government standing counsel Monika Arora and asked her to take instructions on what all can be done to augment the oxygen supply to COVID-19 patients.

The court will hear the matter post-lunch.

Importantly, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had on Monday issued directions to manufacturers and suppliers to stop oxygen supplies for industrial purposes from April 22.

Oxygen shortage everywhere

Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that the national capital is facing an “acute shortage of oxygen”. “In view of sharply increasing cases, Delhi needs much more than normal supply. Rather than increasing supply, our normal supply has been sharply reduced and Delhi’s quota has been diverted to other states,” Kejriwal had tweeted on April 19.

Bihar has been facing a shortage of oxygen and remdivisir injections for over a week now. The Hindu reported that Dr Vinod Kumar Singh of the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital asked the state principal health secretary to relieve him from the post because lack of oxygen in the hospital has made him helpless.

Gujarat too is short of oxygen cylinders. About five days back, five patients died at a private hospital in Navsari for want of oxygen.

Also read: Centre bans industrial use of oxygen as Delhi latest to complain of shortage

The Union government, however, said the onus of maintaining supply is on states. Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal told UNI: “State governments should keep demand (for medical oxygen) under control. Demand-side management is as important as supply-side management.”

Oxygen train waiting for green flag

Meanwhile, the Indian Railways has expressed its readiness to meet the country’s extraordinary demand for oxygen. The Railways has said it is ready do its part: supplying liquid medical oxygen – a gigantic task since the national transporter has to carry it through roll-on-roll-off (RO-RO) service with road tankers placed on flat wagons.

“We hope to begin operations of Oxygen Express over the next few days. We would be able to send oxygen wherever there is such demand. Green corridor is being created for fast movement of Oxygen Express trains,” a railway official said.

(With inputs from agencies)