12 states faced severe shortage of life saving O2 as Delhi asked 4 times more oxygen than was required; इसका क्या जवाब है केजरीवाल जी?

NewsBharati    25-Jun-2021
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In a shock to the nation's medical infrastructure, a Supreme Court panel on Friday revealed that the Delhi government exaggerated its oxygen requirements by four times during the 25 April to 10 May of the second wave of Covid-19. "The Delhi government's claim of 1,140 Metric Tonnes was four times the calculated consumption as per bed formula, which was 289 MT only," an interim audit report said.
 
The report said that consumption of oxygen in Delhi in the period mentioned above had to be corrected due to a gross error in reporting by some hospitals. The panel has named four Delhi hospitals that claimed high consumption- Singhal Hospital, Aruna Asif Ali Hospital, ESIC Model Hospital and Liferay Hospital. The discrepancy, the report said, led to supply for other states getting affected.

Delhi exaggerates oxygen  
 
It has recommended a 'strategy to manufacture oxygen locally or in the neighbourhood for big cities to fulfil at least 50% of their oxygen demand as road transportation is vulnerable'. "All 18 metro cities are to be made oxygen-independent with at least 100 MT storage in the city itself," the report said. The SC panel, headed by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, includes Delhi Government Principal Home Secretary Bhupinder Bhalla, Max Healthcare Director Sandeep Buddhiraja, Union Jal Shakti Ministry Joint Secretary Subodh Yadav and Sanjay Kumar Singh of the Petroleum and Oxygen Safety Organization (PESO).
 
 
An SC bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud had on 5 May directed the Centre to maintain an oxygen supply of 700 MT to Delhi. “We have been very clear that you have to give 700 tonnes to Delhi every day. Don’t drive us to a situation where we have to take firm and coercive steps," the bench said. The SC had also said that the Centre's policy on the supply of medical-grade oxygen to states needed a 'complete revamp'. It found fault with the formula to link allocation of oxygen to only the number of beds in the hospitals of a state and active cases.
 
 
 
“Your formula requires a complete revamp. Now, we tell you the practical problem is that when you prepared this formula, not everyone required oxygen or bed, but many patients today require oxygen even at home," the apex court had told solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who represented the Union government. "Your formula takes into account the number of beds in hospitals but not those who will require it at home because there are not enough beds available anywhere," it added. Refuting the Delhi government’s claim of a daily requirement of 700 tonnes, Mehta had said the allotment made to other states was interfered with to comply with the court order of supplying 700 tonnes of oxygen to Delhi every day.
 
 
The direction came after the Delhi government flagged a shortage in oxygen supply. On 1 May, 12 Covid-19 patients, including a senior doctor, had died at south Delhi's Batra Hospital after the facility ran out of medical oxygen for around 80 minutes in the afternoon. The tragic incident occurred in less than two weeks of 20 coronavirus patients dying at Jaipur Golden Hospital and 25 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, amid the oxygen crisis in the national capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had then said that Delhi can add 9,000 to 9,500 beds for Covid-19 patients if the Union government continues to send 700 tonnes of medical oxygen.
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