MARGAO
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases and a dearth of oxygen supply, the State government on Sunday went into overdrive to take stock of its medical oxygen preparedness.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant descended on the Cuncolim Industrial Estate with other officials at the Cuncolim Oxygen Plant where he got an assurance of the supply of 500 medical oxygen cylinders to the government every day, beginning from Monday, which is expected to go a long way in meeting the requirement of patients gasping for breath.
The plant has been asked to produce medical oxygen 24x7 and the government has promised to supply the required cylinders to it. The CM told the media that the Cuncolim plant has capacity to supply 500 cylinders a day to the government hospital if it runs 24x7.
“The owner has promised to enhance the medical oxygen supply to 500 cylinders a day by working round the clock. Once this plant starts production round the clock, it will help to maintain the supply of medical oxygen to the patients in the government and other hospitals”, he said.
Meanwhile, the South Goa district hospital will play host to a government-run oxygen manufacturing unit in the next fortnight, with the government deciding to set up a plant under the PM Cares Fund.
He said the plant will be made operational by May 15, enabling it to self-sustain its requirements to a great extent.
The CM who reviewed the oxygen supply position to the South Goa district hospital said that the South Goa district hospital has an inbuilt system that can supply oxygen in a self-sustaining manner.
“The district hospital has got the best of oxygen facility We have to run the plant with the help of a compressor. Since the compressor is coming by May 8, we expect to start the oxygen plant in the hospital premises by around May 15,” he said.
On Sunday evening, the CM visited visited the SA OxyNitro Plant situated in Verna to inspect its functioning and take steps to enhance the oxygen manufacturing.
Sawant also visited the Govind Poy Oxygen plant at Nuvem.
With the rising number of Covid cases and subsequent deaths, the Goa government has been making frantic efforts to ramp up oxygen supply to the hospitals in an effort to save lives.
