Probe Begins in Delhi’s Corona Deaths Due to Oxygen Shortage |

20

Nov

Probe Begins In Delhi’s Corona Deaths Due to Oxygen Shortage

Ashok Chadha

Probe into Corona deaths due to oxygen shortage during the pandemic outbreak in the capital for award of compensation up to Rs 5 lakhs is going to speed up after the Delhi Government reconstituted the panel to look into the sensitive issue. Earlier the Delhi High Court.order in September had overruled the Delhi lieutenant governor’s objection to the setting up of such a probe panel.

On May 27, the Delhi Government had constituted the probe panel following public and media outcry over reported deaths of corona patients in few of private hospitals due to shortage in oxygen supply. However the panel could never undertake any work as the Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) did not approve it.

The Delhi Government filed a case against the LG’s non approval in Delhi High Court. The court ruled in government favour allowing setting up of an expert committee to probe the deaths related to oxygen shortage.

The new committee will comprise of Dr Sanjeev Kumar; assistant director of planning at the directorate general of health services, Dr AC Shukla, and medical superintendent of Tirath Ram hospital, Dr JP Singh, professor of medicine at Lok Nayak hospital, Dr Naresh Gupta; senior anaesthetists from the hospital, Dr Amit Kohli; senior anaesthetist from Lal Bahadur Shastri hospital.

The new committee members remain the same as earlier but some additional matters have been added in scope of their enquiry. The new terms of reference mentions that the committee will pass a “reasoned order” only after examining all documents and asking the hospitals for an explanation. The committee has also been asked to conduct only a “fact finding” exercise and not assign fault to any hospital or nursing home.

The second wave of Covid was brutal in it’s impact on Delhiites. During peak time, Delhi recorded around 28,300 cases in a day and a positivity rate exceeding 36% on April 20 and 22 respectively. Sudden surge in positive cases have skyrocketed demand in medical grade oxygen and several hospitals complained of low oxygen supply.

It was around this time that the media reported that at least 31 people are suspected to have died because of oxygen shortage. The incident as reported took place in two separate incidents in separate hospitals – Jaipur Golden and Batra hospitals.

To prevent repeat of such shortage in oxygen leading to death during Covid’s peak, the Delhi Government along with the Union Government have undertaken large scale setting up of oxygen plants and beefed up the oxygen suppliers network. Several private companies manufacturing oxygen plants and supplying medical grade oxygen have tied up with the government in building the oxygen supply chain network.

Bhartiya Cryogas is one such oxygen manufacturing company leading the government as well as private hospitals and healthcare facilities efforts to boost the oxygen supply network in India. Much before the Corona’s outbreak, the company has been India’s leading commercial oxygen manufacturer, manufacturer of oxygen plants, and oxygen cylinder filling plants. During the pandemic, they used their vast experience and facilities to immediately produce and supply medical grade oxygen.

During the second wave, Bhartiya Cryogas, top manufacturer and supplier of customized Cryogenic and PSA (PRESSURE SWING ADSORPTION) Medical Oxygen Generation plants rose to meet national crisis by quickly turning its vast experience and facilities to produce and supply Medical PSA Oxygen Plant.

P K Dutt, the Founder CEO of Bhartiya Cryogas claimed that within a record period of three months, his company beefed up their facilities on a war footing to design, fabricate and deliver customized highest quality standard Medical PSA oxygen.

With the impending third wave of Corona, a dedicated team of engineers have been deputed by the company for commissioning these PSA Oxygen Plant to Government Hospitals located at Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra as part of the ongoing contractual obligations. There are several types of pants fabricated and supplied by Bhartiya Cryogas. They are:

CRYOGENICS

1) Medium Pressure Oxygen/Nitrogen Gas/Liquid Plants

2) Low Pressure Oxygen/Nitrogen Gas/Liquid Plants

PRESSURE SWING ADSORPTION (PSA)

1) PSA/VPSA Oxygen/Nitrogen Generators

INDUSTRIAL GAS PLANTS

1) Hi-tech Acetylene plants

2) Nitrous Oxide plants

3) CO2 plants

4) Cylinder Filling Station