Bhubaneswar: Odisha has so far sent 281 tankers/containers carrying 5,125.412 MT medical oxygen to 10 states for the treatment of critical COVID 19 patients, official sources said on Tuesday.
The medical oxygen has been escorted from Rourkela, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Angul districts by Odisha Police and more are being sent, said ADGP (Law and Order), Y K Jethwa, who has been monitoring smooth transportation of the oxygen carrying carriers to different states.
The sources said 5,125.412 MT of medical oxygen has been sent to different states till May 3.
While 31 tankers were dispatched from Angul with 517.94 MT, 64 from Dhenkanal with 981.08 MT, 74 from Jajpur with 1508.62 MT and 112 from Rourkela with 2117.772 MT, he said.
This apart, Jethwa said, 83 tankers with 1702.98 MT of oxygen, were being sent to Andhra Pradesh, 76 tankers with 1267.739 MT of oxygen were sent to Telangana.
Tamil Nadu has received 7 tankers filled with 136.42 MT of medical oxygen, he said, adding that similarly, Haryana received 35 tankers filled with 654.482 MT of oxygen.
Thirteen tankers with 211.16 MT of oxygen were sent to Maharashtra, while 214.391 MT of oxygen filled in 14 tankers have left for Chhattisgarh.
Twenty-four tankers have carried around 437.69 MT of oxygen to Uttar Pradesh and 26 tankers with 438.23 MT of oxygen were sent to Madhya Pradesh. Two tankers with 33 MT of oxygen were sent to Delhi and 1 tanker with 29.32 MT sent to Punjab in the last 12 days, he said.
A Special Cell was formed under the ADGP (L&O) as the Nodal Officer for coordinated action for loading and transportation of medical oxygen by Odisha to states facing a deficit. A dedicated corridor has been set up with round the clock monitoring. District SPs/DCPs and Range DIG/IG/CP are supervising the movement personally within their jurisdictions.
Odisha has sent oxygen to UP, MP, Haryana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and other needy states. “We will do our utmost for prompt service to assist the needy states,” Jethwa said.
Meanwhile, steel maker JSPL’s 6 mtpa plant at Angul said the company has been supplying 100 tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) across India to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
“JSPL has been always standing with the country and countrymen during calamities and emergencies and will continue to do so during this pandemic. For us, it is the nation first.
I am sure together we shall defeat the pandemic,” JSPLs Chairman Naveen Jindal had said recently.