Indore (Madhya Pradesh): On a day when the Madhya Pradesh government claimed it had a surplus supply of oxygen, shocking visuals of people ransacking the oxygen storeroom and looting cylinders from Damoh district hospital have emerged, according to INDIA TODAY website.
The incident took place late on Tuesday night at Damoh district hospital, which is a dedicated Covid hospital of the district.
Doctors and paramedical staff of the hospital had to briefly halt the work after loot. Work was resumed after police beefed up security at the hospital campus. A similar incident took place at the hospital on Monday as well. While the incident was reported to the police, no one was booked.
“After Monday’s incident, police and the district administration were informed. On Tuesday, it was repeated again. The police were again informed, but under such circumstances, it is becoming increasingly difficult for doctors and paramedic staff to perform their duties," Damoh district hospital civil surgeon Dr Mamta Timoti said.
A view outside storeroom | INDIA TODAY
She said they stopped work but resumed again in a short while on humanitarian grounds.” Damoh district collector Tarun Rathi, however, claimed that a decision to book people who indulged in the loot of gas cylinders has been taken but no one has been arrested so far.
On Tuesday, the state government claimed that it had a surplus supply of oxygen. “We have sourced 390 metric tonnes of oxygen as of Tuesday while demand on the same day was 374 metric tonnes,” a government communiqué said.
On Tuesday, Damoh reported 85 fresh cases of Covid-19, taking the total number of infected cases in the district to 4,162. 98 people have so far lost their lives to the deadly virus in Damoh.