Arvind Kejriwal government to import 18 oxygen tankers from Bangkok, oxygen plants from France

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said the Centre has provided five oxygen tankers to Delhi, adding that the Delhi government has urged the Centre to provide Indian Air Force aircraft for bringing the oxygen tankers from Bangkok.

File pic: Zee News

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday (April 27) said that his government will import 18 cryogenic tankers from Thailand and 21 ready-to-use oxygen plants from France. He said the scrambling for oxygen witnessed last week has been addressed and the situation has improved significantly in the past two days.

After facing a crippling shortage of life-saving oxygen, the Delhi government has decided to set up 44 oxygen plants at various hospitals, including 21 that will be imported from France. The Centre will install eight oxygen plants by April 30, Kejriwal said during an online briefing.

Arvind Kejriwal said the Centre has provided five oxygen tankers to Delhi, adding that the Delhi government has urged the Centre to provide Indian Air Force aircraft for bringing the oxygen tankers from Bangkok. The Delhi CM added that the tankers will start arriving in Delhi on Wednesday.

He further said that "tremendous" cooperation has been received, with many of them urging not to be named for their contribution. Notably, Kejriwal also sought the help of chief ministers of other states and the country's top industrialists to resolve the oxygen crisis in the national capital. 

Centre raps Kejriwal govt for failure to resolve logistical issues to procure oxygen

Meanwhile, the Centre has rapped the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government for its alleged failure to arrange tankers for transportation of oxygen for the city's hospitals and said pro-active actions by it could have "avoided tragic incidents".

In a hard-hitting letter to Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also claimed that the Delhi government's efforts to resolve logistical issues for procuring oxygen have "not been up to the mark" at a time when other states and union territories have been making earnest and professional efforts on the matter. The letter was written on April 25. 

Highlighting various steps taken by the central government like stopping oxygen supply to industries, uninterrupted movement of oxygen tankers, airlifting of tankers from abroad, the home secretary said all state governments and UTs have been making diligent and continuous efforts at their level for the last few days to arrange tankers for the allocated quantity of medical oxygen and a specially designated virtual group was formed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for facilitation.

The home secretary said presently, there is no shortage of medical oxygen supply and Delhi had been allocated 480 MT on April 21 after consultation with officers of the Delhi government.

(With Agency Inputs)