COVID-19 crisis: Will hang anyone obstructing oxygen supply, says Delhi High Court

Representational Image (Reuters)

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Saturday (April 24) while hearing a petition on the oxygen shortage stated that "its tsunami and we are calling it wave" and asked both the Centre and the state government to get prepared to overcome the crisis.

Citing the study of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Kanpur, the court said that its assessment is that the peak of the COVID wave will come in mid-May. "We are calling it a wave, it is actually a tsunami," the court said.

Earlier, hearing a petition on oxygen supply, the Delhi High Court observed that it will "hang" whoever obstructs the movement of oxygen.

The Delhi High Court said that if any official at the central, state or local administration was obstructing in the picking up or supply of oxygen, then it would "hang" that person. It said, whoever obstructs oxygen supply, we will not spare them.

The observation was made by the bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli during the hearing of a plea by Maharaja Agrasen Hospital over the shortage of oxygen.

The Delhi High court observed that "the mortality rate needs to be reduced."

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said there might be a rapid rise in the number of cases in May and June and the country needs to be ready for the worst.

He said, the Prime Minister and others are working on it and have decided to import oxygen and are also exploring the remotest possibility of generating oxygen from wherever it is possible.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government informed the court that the system will "collapse" if it did not get 480 metric tonnes of oxygen.

"When will Delhi get 480 metric tonnes? Please tell us that," the court asked the Union government while hearing Maharaja Agrasen Hospital`s petition.

About 20 Covid patients died on Friday night at Jaipur Golden Hospital due to the low supply of oxygen. The hospital has appealed to authority in the national capital to arrange oxygen at the earliest.

Meanwhile, India recorded 3.46 lakh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours that took the country's total caseload to 1.66 crores, the data by the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday (April 24) morning.

India, the second-worst coronavirus-hit country in the world, reported 3,46,786 new infections. India's April 24 COVID-19 figures surpassed its previous highest single-day rise in the world - 3,32,730 cases - recorded on Friday (April 23).

(Input from agencies)