THD News Desk, New Delhi: As India fights an uphill battle against coronavirus, there is a persistent shortage of oxygen in Delhi which has led to the death of 8 patients on Saturday in the National Capital.
With an unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases and a healthcare system breakdown, Delhi continues to ask for its 490 tons of oxygen from the Centre that has been allocated to it.
The Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal said, “I request the decision-makers with folded hands to provide oxygen to Delhi.” The National Capital’s daily requirement is 976 tons of oxygen and as it battles to breathe, only 312 tons of the allocated oxygen has reached Delhi from the Centre.
The Delhi High Court had to intervene in the clash between the Centre and State as the oxygen crises continue to wreak havoc. The high court said if the centre fails to supply the stated quantity of oxygen, then it will face contempt charges.
“Do you mean we will shut our eyes to the people dying in Delhi,” it asked the Centre? “We mean business. Water has gone above the head,” the court said and declined to defer its order.
Several hospitals have been complaining about the unavailability of oxygen and many reported deaths due to dwindling supplies.
According to reports, the oxygen supply ran out at Delhi’s Batra Hospital at around 12.45 pm. However, the hospital only received supplies over an hour later. Several individuals including one doctor reportedly died in the hospital during this time.
Earlier in the day, Aakash Hospital had reportedly flagged an acute shortage, contending that their existing supplies would only last till 2 pm.
Fortis Hospital in the Vasant Kunj area stated that more than a hundred lives were at stake. Speaking to a news channel, hospital authorities said that while they had more than a hundred critical patients on oxygen support, they had now been left with six hours of liquid medical oxygen backup. “Our supplier is INOX, but we are unable to sustain with such low supply. We are seeking urgent help from the concerned authorities to avoid the disaster,” the publication quoted them as saying.
On Thursday the Delhi High Court asked the Centre “why Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were given more oxygen than they asked for while Delhi’s allocation was not increased as per the request of the AAP government.”
