Industries in Jharkhand have come to the rescue of several oxygen-deprived Covid patients across India amid an acute crisis of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) reported from many high-positivity states in the country.
In the month of April, Tata Steel and Bokaro Steel Limited – two of the steel giants in the tribal state – have supplied more than 5000 metric tonne of liquid oxygen to high Covid-positivity states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to combat the oxygen crisis and ensure proper treatment of Covid patients, officials from the two companies said on Thursday. A statement released by Tata Steel in response to a query stated that around 4000 tonnes of LMG has been supplied from the oxygen plant in Jamshedpur to different states in the month of April.
“Apart from supplying oxygen to TMH, MGM, Tinplate Hospital, Tata Motor Hospital and Brahmanand Hospital in Jamshedpur, we are supplying oxygen to states like Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, MP and AP through our manufacturing units in Jamshedpur, Kalinganagar and Angul,” the statement from Tata Steel read.
The Tata Group was also lauded recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Railways, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal for the company’s efforts to serve the country during the ongoing Covid crisis.
“Compassionate gesture by Tata Group. Together, the people of India will fight Covid-19,” the Prime Minister tweeted from the official Twitter account on Wednesday.
The Bokaro Steel Plant has also supplied more than 1200 metric tonnes of oxygen to different states in the month of April. The Chief of Communication, BSL, Mani Kant Dhan said that the steel plant has been supplying oxygen every day to hospitals and oxygen supplying agencies in different states since the beginning of April. Besides, BSL is also providing oxygen to a 900-bed hospital in Bokaro itself, he added.
As per details shared by Dhan, from April 1 to April 21, BSL supplied 232 metric tonne of LMO to Jharkhand, 324 metric tonne to Uttar Pradesh, 282 metric tonne to Bihar, 20 metric tonne to West Bengal and 19 metric tonne to Maharashtra.
Besides, the steel plant has also supplied liquid oxygen to government and private hospitals to different states. It has supplied 137 metric tonne oxygen directly to hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, 72 metric tonne to Bihar, nine metric tonne to West Bengal and 154 metric tonne to Madhya Pradesh.
“Even today, a consignment of oxygen for UP is on its way. We are regularly monitoring the requirements and trying to meet the demands as per our capacity,” said Dhan.