BHOPAL Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan spoke to his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday, appealing him not to stop the supply of oxygen to the state in view of the rising number of Covid-19 patients.
According to sources in the Madhya Pradesh health department, the Maharashtra government had on September 7 issued an order directing oxygen production units to supply 80% production for medical treatment in the state, while remaining 20% could be used for industrial purposes in Maharashtra only.
Talking to journalists after chairing a meeting to take stock of the pandemic situation, Chouhan said Thackeray had assured him that although Maharashtra was itself facing difficulties due to the rising number of Covid cases still he would make efforts to ensure that the supply of oxygen to MP isn’t affected.
Chouhan said alternative arrangements are also being made. The central state reported 2,100 Covid-19 cases on Thursday.
"The shortage of oxygen was worrying me a lot. I spoke to Uddhav Thackeray and requested him not to stop the supply at this difficult time," the chief minister said.
Chouhan said his Maharashtra counterpart had said that he too was facing difficulties due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in his state, but has assured of working towards maintaining the supply.
"We have also made alternate arrangements. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh had oxygen production installed capacity of 50 tonnes, which has now been increased to 120 tonnes. We will take it to 150 tonnes by September 30," Chouhan added.
A company called INOX used to supply oxygen from its Nagpur-based plant in Maharashtra, Chouhan said, adding that the firm would now continue the supply from its plants in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
The state government has also asked small oxygen plants in Madhya Pradesh to increase their production from the present 50 to 60 per cent, the chief minister said.
Short-term arrangements have been made to ensure that COVID-19 patients are not affected, he said.
"As part of our long-term planning, we have given a green light to INOX to set up an oxygen plant with an installed capacity of 200 tonnes in Mohasa near Babai in Hoshangabad in the next six months," he said.
(With PTI Inputs)