Raigad asks industries to up O2 production, to share with nearby areas

With 12 deaths reported in the past 13 days and over 500 daily positive cases being recorded under Panvel Municipal Corporationrsquos PMC area the Raigad district administration has directed major industrial houses and smaller setups manufacturing industrial oxygen in Taloja MIDC Alibaug Patalganga and Rasayani to have optimum production levels of medical oxygenA doctor from Kharghar said ldquoWith people moving about freely even amid this lockdown the cases are expected to increase Kharghar is yet to have a super speciality setup The only bigger hospital in the vicinity is Apollo Hospital in CBD Belapur It too has no beds patients are referred to fever clinics or are on the waiting listrdquoHarshada Upadhyaya BJP corporator from Kharghar echoed similar concerns She added ldquoIt is a fact that the PMC is still struggling for funds considering that it is a new corporation A private 100bed setup in Khargharrsquos Sector 12 should become functional in hopefully two days The hospital is waiting for an NOC from the PMCrdquoNavi Mumbairsquos Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde along with the Raigad collector Konkan Commissioner Annasaheb Misal and other senior officers visited a few offices in and around Taloja industrial area a few days ago The administration is planning to acquire an office setup of large industrial houses where a dedicated COVID centre may be set up for patients not needing hospitalisationA doctor attached to the NMMC said ldquoThe CIDCO exhibition centre which has over 1000 oxygenated beds will be used only for patients with low oxygen levels The NMMC will also get over 1000 more ventilators in the coming monthsrdquoThe doctor added ldquoThe NMMC is also taking over private halls in Airoli Nerul Ghansoli Belapur etc to treat asymptomatic patients and those with mild symptoms We are anticipating that there would be over 1000 such beds availablerdquoWhat traders sayShailesh Dave a trader supplying medical oxygen in Panvel said ldquoThe situation is normalising slowly Two days ago there was a sudden rise in demand for medical oxygen across neighbouring areas It took time to convert liquid oxygen which was in short supply into the gaseous state The gaseous oxygen is then converted to medical oxygen and is supplied to hospitalsrdquolsquoAble to meet needrsquoState minister Aditi Tatkare who is also the guardian minister for Raigad confirmed the arrangements being made to meet the oxygen requirements ldquoWe have asked large industrial units like JSW to focus more on the supply of medical oxygen Fortunately Raigad districtrsquos requirement of oxygen at present is around 25 to 30 metric tonnes MT per day Areas under PMC have a higher consumption amid a higher number of cases Raigad district will also supply oxygen to neighbouring districts like Sindhudurg Ratnagiri Thane etc The total requirement right now is around 100 to 200 MT daily which JSW is able to meetrdquo said TatkareShe added ldquoWe are roping in smaller manufacturers to continue supply We are preparing for the next 1520 days when cases are likely to increase Industrial units have to focus 909537 production on medical oxygenrdquo Tatkare said that most units are helping the administration under their CSR programmes ldquoOther details of payment if supply goes beyond a stipulated time will be worked outrdquo Tatkare addedAsked about the rise in cases in PMC Tatkare said ldquoAround 35 per cent people residing in PMCrsquos jurisdiction commute to other areas for work and are under high risk of infection Also people still take the risk of not visiting the hospital as soon as they develop symptoms and struggle at the last moment to get a bed and ventilator I appeal to the public to not take any chancesrdquoTatkare said they are continuing the vaccination drive with whatever little stock they have received ldquoOn Saturday the state is expected to get 2 lakh doses from the Centre and we expect Raigad to get 7000 to 10000 vaccines Around 30 per cent of the stock will be given to Panvelrdquo she said Tatkare added ldquoThere is also a new trend where instead of getting RTPCR tests for Rs 900 the results of which take a couple of days people are preferring the vaccine for Rs 250 which assures them of some protectionrdquo Nodal officers have also been appointed in districts to coordinate the supply of oxygen to various hospitalsSend report on WhatsApp CourtThe Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court took a suo motu PIL wherein the intervener Dr Mukesh Chandak pointed out difficulties faced by patients in getting RTPCR tests According to the applicant intervener laboratories are not giving patients their reports unless they are uploaded on Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR portals which is causing delaysJustices Z A Haq and Amit Borkar ordered that the reports should be uploaded on the ICMR website after sending them to the patient on WhatsApp and providing hard copies The arrangement is to continue till further orders The matter will be listed for further consideration on April 20