The Central government on Sunday reviewed the oxygen supply situation in the country and has now banned the use of liquid oxygen for any non-medical purpose. Moreover, all manufacturing units have been asked to maximise their production of liquid oxygen and make it available to the government with immediate effect, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.
'It has been considered necessary to restrict industrial usage of oxygen supply situation for ensuring availability of adequate and uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen across the country for management of COVID," the MHA statement read.
The Central Government has reviewed the oxygen supply situation and has decided that with immediate effect, use of liquid oxygen, including the existing stock, will be allowed for medical purposes only and that all manufacturing units may be allowed to maximise their production of liquid oxygen and make it available to govt for use of medical purposes only," it added.
The MHA further directed the States and Union Territories to ensure that use of liquid oxygen is not allowed for any non-medical purpose. "All stocks of liquid oxygen should be made available to the government. No exception is allowed to any industry with regards to use of liquid oxygen," the statement read.
Earlier in the day, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's direction of boosting availability of oxygen to hospitals, the PM CARES Fund has given in-principle approval for allocation of funds for installation of 551 dedicated Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Medical Oxygen Generation Plants inside public health facilities across the country, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.
According to a statement issued by the PMO, the Prime Minister has directed that these plants should be made functional as soon as possible. He said that these plants will serve as a major boost to oxygen availability at the district level.
The basic aim behind establishing PSA Oxygen Generation Plants at Government hospitals in the district headquarters is to further strengthen the public health system and ensure that each of these hospitals has a captive oxygen generation facility, said the PMO.
