Delhi has got SC-mandated oxygen quota only once, urge centre for more: Sisodia

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday said Delhi has received 700 metric tonnes of oxygen, as mandated by the Supreme Court, for just one day, and that the Centre has failed to supply even 600MT a day after that.

Addressing a press conference, Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s nodal minister for Covid-19 management, said the city received 577 MT of supply on Thursday and only 488MT on Friday. He urged the Centre to streamline its processes and ensure that all states and union territories receive oxygen in better quantities so that states don’t have to fight for oxygen supply.

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“It is my humble appeal to the government of India to increase Delhi’s oxygen allocation to 700MT as soon as possible. At present, Delhi requires a minimum of 700MT oxygen supply to cater to the patients admitted in hospitals. Further, an increase in Covid beds and health infrastructure will necessitate a total oxygen allocation of 976MT for Delhi... With this deficit, it would be hard to manage proper supply for all hospitals,” he said.

Sisodia said 700MT of oxygen is the “bare minimum” required for Delhi, based on the Centre’s formula for allocating oxygen supply to hospitals and patient-wise data.

“During court proceedings, the Centre claimed that India continues to receive a surplus in oxygen, with 10,000MT oxygen produced and 7,000-8,000MT consumed. The Centre told the court that there is no shortage of oxygen,” he pointed out.

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Senior AAP leader and the party’s national spokesperson Raghav Chadha said the Delhi government has put the demand of 976MT of oxygen for the city aside for now and is focusing on getting at least 700MT from the Centre on a daily basis. “We might not be able to make huge stock reserves of oxygen through this 700 MT, but we will be able to conveniently run the beds that need oxygen,” Chadha said.

Union government spokesperson did not respond to requests seeking comment.