The Mismanagement And Logistical Issues Main Reason For Oxygen Shortage

 Nature has its own way of punishing the "arrogant" human being. See what is happening after the outbreak of second wave of deadly pandemic corona virus. All nuke might, weapons, scientific and technology advancement have surrendered to the corona. India is the worst affected country as more than 3 lakh corona cases are being reported daily. It has created acute shortage of oxygen supply. Worst, the continuous rains in Himachal and other hill areas have added to woes.

With the unprecedented spike in corona cases, oxygen supply has dried up and entire system has collapsed. People are dying like insects. Everywhere all over the country, we see wailing patients crying for oxygen and corona treatment. The situation is so grim that most of the hospitals are over-packed and patients are being treated under open sky.Many hospitals have put up notice of "over-packed" and refusing entry to new patients.

Twenty-five "sickest patients" died in the last 24 hours at Sir Ganga Ram hospital in Delhi, said hospital this morning. Revealing a worsening corona crisis in the capital's hospitals, the hospital in an SOS at around 8 am also said it had oxygen for only two more hours and that 60 more patients were at risk. Around two hours later, oxygen tankers arrived at the hospital.

Most of the hospitals in Delhi and states are currently operating on the edge due to a shortage of medical oxygen. Over the past few weeks, many breathless corona patients have died due to the unavailability of medical oxygen in hospitals situated in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharastra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Worse, not only oxygen even oxymeter (the instrument for measuring your oxygen level) have disappeared from the market and there is acute shortage.

Its a total mismanagement and poor comprehension of the situation. Govts couldn't comprehend that second wave would be so severe and health system would collapse.

Have a look at data. India exported twice as much oxygen to the world during the first 10 months of financial year 2021 in comparison to the previous financial year. As much as 9,301 metric tonnes of oxygen across the world between April 2020 and January 2021. In comparison, the country had exported only 4,502 metric tonnes of oxygen in financial year 2020-21. The oxygen supplied was in liquid form and can be used for both industrial and medical use.

There is no denying, the demand for oxygen in India was not as high during the said period. During the first wave, the demand for liquid medical oxygen (LMO) increased from 700 metric tonnes per day (MTPD) to 2,800 MTPD. But during the second wave, it has skyrocketed to 5,000 MTPD. It was only in the second week of April when demand for medical oxygen in India witnessed a five-fold jump, according to Crisil.

India produces over 7,000 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen per day. Earlier, It was enough to meet the domestic demand. However, the demand for medical oxygen skyrocketed soon after Maharashtra started witnessing a sharp rise in cases since February. The situation worsened as the second corona wave hit with blistering force in March.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Balram Bhargava had pointed out earlier that shortness of breath has emerged as a major concern among corona patients during the second wave. This is why the need for medical oxygen has almost doubled.

Though the current production of 7,000 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen per day is enough to support the requirement of medical oxygen but uneven supply and logistical issues have led to an oxygen crisis in some states.

Hope prime minister's today meeting with Chief Ministers and manufacturers of oxygen will remove the logistical issues.

Jai Shri Ram

(Chander Sharma)