New Delhi, Apr 23 (UNI) Amidst a severe shortage of Oxygen for COVID-19 patients in various parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged the manufacturers to utilise tankers meant to transport other gases for oxygen supply.
"There is a need to increase the availability of oxygen cylinders as well as upgrade the logistics facilities for its transportation," the Prime Minister said during a meeting with leading oxygen manufacturers across the country via video conferencing.
He said this time is not only to deal with the challenges, but also to provide solutions in a very short time. Mr Modi stressed on the need to maintain good co-ordination between the government and the oxygen producers.
He appreciated the oxygen producers for increasing their production in the last few weeks. He acknowledged the several steps taken to increase the production of liquid oxygen. Mr Modi also thanked the industry for diverting industrial oxygen to meet medical requirements in the country.
To improve the situation further, Mr Modi spoke about utilising the full potential of the industry to meet the demand of oxygen in the coming days. Mr Modi noted that there is a need to increase the availability of oxygen cylinders as well as upgrade the logistics facilities for transportation of oxygen.
The Prime Minister said keeping in mind the requirements of states pertaining to oxygen, government is working on effective use of Railways and Air Force so that the tankers reach the production centre as soon as possible.
Mr Modi remarked that the government, the states, the industry and the transporters, and all the hospitals need to come together and work in unison. The better the synergy and coordination, the easier it will be able to deal with this challenge.
Appreciating the oxygen producers, Mr Modi extended government's full support to them and hoped the country would be successful in combating the crisis soon.
Mukesh Ambani, CMD of RIL, Soma Mandal, Chairperson of SAIL, Sajjan Jindal of JSW, Narendran of Tata Steel, Naveen Jindal of JSPL, Dilip Oommen of AMNS, M Bannerjee of LINDE, Sidharth Jain of Inox, Noriyo Shibuya, MD of Air Water Jamshedpur, Rajesh Kumar Saraf of National Oxygen Ltd and Saket Tiku, President of All India Industrial Gases Manufacturer's Association were present during the meeting.
UNI NY JAL 2104