We need to come together and unite as Indians and as human beings: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "With the rise in coronavirus cases in the country, demands for oxygen cylinders, medicines, vaccination, etc, has increased. Their shortage is being felt. We, in Delhi, have also faced an acute shortage of oxygen cylinders."

Image courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that people need to come together and unite as Indians and as human beings, to ensure the survival of the people of India in this hour of Corona crisis. He said that he, along with Dy CM Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain, is constantly in touch with officials trying to ensure the entire process moves smoothly and is working 24x7 to ensure that the resources are made available to the people. 

Kejriwal said that the newly increased quota of oxygen is going to be supplied primarily from Odisha. This consignment will take some time to reach Delhi, and the Delhi govt is trying its best to airlift oxygen from Odisha to cut down on the time it takes. He said that the 6-day lockdown is not a period of rest but a period of activity, which the Delhi government will utilize to overcome the shortage of oxygen, beds, etc, in Delhi and strengthen the health infrastructure.

In a press conference today, the Chief Minister said, "With the rise in coronavirus cases in the country, demands for oxygen cylinders, medicines, vaccination, etc, has increased. Their shortage is being felt. We, in Delhi, have also faced an acute shortage of oxygen cylinders."

"The Delhi government has spent a number of sleepless nights trying to arrange oxygen in hospitals and other COVID care centers to try and ensure that no patient suffers because of its absence. The Central government designates a specific quota for every state i.e. the number of oxygen cylinders a particular state is eligible to receive. The Delhi government estimated that Delhi has a daily requirement of 700 tonnes of oxygen."

Kejriwal said, "The Central government had earlier capped our quota at 378 tonnes, yesterday they increased it to 480 tonnes. Even though we require more oxygen, we are extremely grateful to the Central government for increasing our oxygen supply. The Central government also decides the company that will supply oxygen to the states. Delhi does not have any production centers. Our entire supply of oxygen comes from companies based in other states."

"The problem that has arisen here is that the states in which these companies are based are not allowing oxygen cylinders to come to Delhi. They say they wish to use the oxygen in their own states. Trucks supplying oxygen are being stopped. We are thankful to the Central government and the Delhi High Court who have aided us in this situation. Trucks have slowly started reaching Delhi," he added. 

He said, "For the last two days, Manish ji, myself, other Delhi government officials have been in direct contact with Central government officials. Recently, the truck that had to restock the oxygen supply in GTB hospital was stopped and not allowed passage. I remember we immediately got in touch with a Central government Minister and he got the truck released. We are constantly in touch with officials trying to ensure the entire process moves smoothly. We are all working 24x7 to ensure that the resources you need are made available."

On the increased oxygen supply for Delhi, CM Arvind Kejriwal said, "The newly increased quota of oxygen is going to be supplied primarily from Odisha. This consignment will take some time to reach Delhi. We are trying our best to airlift oxygen from Odisha to cut down on the time it takes. When we imposed the 6-day lockdown, we told you this will not be a period of rest. This will be a period of activity. We will utilize it to overcome the shortage of oxygen, beds, etc, in Delhi and strengthen the health infrastructure to meet your needs; and we are. This is a colossal crisis."

"If we decide to split ourselves into Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West Bengal...India will not survive. We need to come together. We need to unite as Indians, as human beings. We don't want to see news of states stopping trucks coming to Delhi, going to MP, etc. We want to see news that shows us how Delhi helped another state overcome its crisis, how Uttar Pradesh helped in doing so. We want to see news of togetherness and unity. This is the only way India can overcome this crisis. The country cannot afford to get divided into states at this point. It is my humble appeal to citizens and state governments of the country, please come together. Let us work together. Together with the increase in our resources, our manpower increases, our strength to overcome this pandemic increases. Together we are stronger," he added. 

The CM further added, "It is my promise as the Chief Minister of Delhi, if we have surplus medicines, oxygen, and other supplies, we will send them to states that need them. When corona subsides in Delhi and doctors are required in other states, we will send them. Corona doesn't recognize borders. We must also move beyond them and work together. We need to show the world what good and efficient governance looks like. We will show the world how, despite having the largest number of coronavirus cases in the world, we were able to defeat the virus by coming together."