According to PTI, Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday that the state would be unable to supply oxygen to other states due to an increase in coronavirus cases.
According to the Hindustan Times, Pinarayi Vijayan mentioned in his letter to the prime minister that Kerala had been supplying 40 metric tonnes of oxygen to Tamil Nadu every day in compliance with the Central Committee on Oxygen Allocation’s directives. Karnataka also receives medicinal oxygen from Kerala.
Kerala currently has over 4 lakh active cases, with the figure expected to grow to 6 lakhs by May 15, according to Vijayan, who also stated that the state will need 450 metric tonnes of oxygen by May 15 due to the increased number of patients who would need to be hospitalised. Given the current scenario, it would be virtually impossible to allow oxygen to be taken outside the state, Vijayan said.
Vijayan told Modi that Kerala’s largest oxygen-producing plant, in Palakkad, has a manufacturing capacity of 150 metric tonnes per day, while other units produced 219 metric tonnes per day, according to NDTV.
He went on to say that because the state was so far away from the major steel plants, transporting oxygen in a timely manner would be difficult.
According to the news channel, Vijayan said, I suggest that the entire oxygen emitted in the state, i.e. 219 MT [metric tonnes], be allotted to the state of Kerala. This could be balanced by steel plant allocations.
Kerala was left with only 86 metric tonnes of buffer stock, according to Vijayan. According to PTI, he advised the Centre to prepare for more cryogenic tankers to ensure a sufficient supply of oxygen.
Kerala’s High Court has asked the Centre to consider the state’s need for oxygen
Meanwhile, according to Live Law, the Kerala High Court ordered the Centre to entertain Kerala’s plea for more oxygen in light of the sharp rise in coronavirus cases. Kerala’s state attorney, KV Sohan, told the court that the state was running out of oxygen, despite the fact that the Centre had ordered the state to supply supplies to other states.
Kerala had requested a 400-metric-tonne buffer stock from the Centre, according to Sohan. Karnataka was getting 1,200 metric tonnes of oxygen from the Centre, he said.
A vicious second wave of the coronavirus is wreaking havoc in India. Several cities’ hospitals are experiencing severe shortages of oxygen, medications, and surgical supplies. India reported 3,29,942 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday morning, bringing the total number of infections in the world to 2,29,92,517 since the pandemic began in January 2020. The death toll increased by 3,876 people to 2,49,992.
