Mumbai is racing to get oxygen-ready

Mumbais struggle with oxygen during the second wave of COVID has spurred the BMC to fasttrack work on oxygen plants By next month it aims to raise the cityrsquos medical oxygen production capacity from 3 metric tonnes a day to 178 MT said officials At present plants with a combined capacity of 55 MT are ready Mumbairsquos oxygen requirement is 235 MT a day if all oxygen and ICU beds are occupiedBMC has also raised oxygen storage capacity to 600 MTAn ambulance takes patients out of Bhagwati hospital at Borivli during an oxygen shortage File picSatej ShindeThough the need for a steady supply of oxygen was felt during the first wave several hospitals pressed the panic button during the second wave with the number of patients with lung infections ballooning On the night of April 17 the corporation had to shift 168 patients from six municipal hospitals to other centres over lack of oxygenAlso Read Mumbairsquos new Covid19 cases inch towards 500markLearning from the experience it decided to spend Rs 360 crore to create capacity and become selfsufficient on medical oxygen Officials said the BMC has already built nine new plants with a combined capacity of 42 MT tonnes of oxygen a day by spending R90 crore An additional 13 MT plant has been set up under corporate social responsibility at many peripheral hospitals Also 55 MT of refilling capacity will be ready at Mahul and Mahalaxmi A staffer with an oxygen cylinder at a COVID centre in city FileAFPUntil the BMC stepped on the gas to ramp up medical oxygen capacity the city had just two plantsmdashat HBT Trauma Hospital at Jogeshwari 226 MT and Kasturba Hospital 104 MTldquoNine new plants along with two existing plants are already installed Plants with a capacity of 555 MT are already created and other plants with a capacity of 1192 MT are in pipelinerdquo said P Velarasu additional commissioner of the BMC who is in charge of the project department All the jumbo centres will have bigger plants as each of them has 1500 to 2000 bedsOxygen plant at Kasturba hospitalOfficials said these plants will trap atmospheric oxygen The cost of oxygen per cubic metre produced at these plants will be equal to liquid medical oxygen The plants can be operated for a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 yearsldquoAll the oxygen plants will run on pressure swing absorption PSA technology The city needs 235 MT of oxygen per day if all the beds are occupied We are planning another cylinder refilling plant of 40 MT capacity at Mahalaxmi under CSR initiative in addition to existing dura cylinder refilling plant of Mahalaxmirdquo said Suresh Kakani additional commissioner of the BMCHe added that there are total 85 plants including multiple plants at a single hospital planned under CSR or funds from the state and BMC Out of which 34 installed and operational and 41 will be installed by September 30Easing of curbs to depend on oxygen availability CMChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said the easing of COVID19 restrictions in the state will be based on the availability of oxygen and it was ldquoup to the people to prevent or invite a third wave of the pandemicrdquoInaugurating a virtual medical conference Thackeray asked political parties to refrain from indulging in politics and demanding reopening of places where crowds cannot be avoidedldquoAt present our statersquos daily oxygen production is around 1200 to 1300 metric tonnes which is used for industrial as well as medical purposes In the second wave the requirement for medical purposes increased to 1700 to 1800 MT dailyrdquo he saidThe CM said he has asked authorities to up production to 3000 metric tonnes ldquoBut that will take time We may not get enough oxygen from other states if the number of cases there increasesrdquo