India is currently facing a national crisis of oxygen shortage. However, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has assured that Assam is unlikely to face any such shortage as the state or will be having a surplus of 40 metric tonnes (MT) of oxygen per day from tomorrow.
In a press meet held at GMCH on 26th April, Sarma informed that Assam currently gets 50 MT oxygen per day from two plants – Meghalaya Oxygen Private Limited and Premier Cryogenics Limited. The government will be signing memorandum of understanding (MoU) with two oxygen plants at Dimapur and Bongaigaon tomorrow that will be supplying 3 MT and 2.9 MT daily.
Further, the government had established 8 oxygen plants in the various medical colleges of Assam that produce a total of 5 MT per day. All total, the state will be getting 61 MT oxygen daily from tomorrow against the daily consumption of 20 MT, thus having a surplus of 40 MT.
One more oxygen plants are also being constructed at Samdrup Jongkhar, Bhutan with a capacity to produce 50 MT daily. The government is also mulling to resume operation of an oxygen plant at the Digboi refinery that has remained non-functional for the past 10 years.
Sarma also assured that Assam is fortunate enough to have oxygen storage capacity of 460 metric tonnes. While all the aforesaid plants will be functional by mid June, the Centre has permitted Assam to procure oxygen from Durgapur if the advent of any emergency.
Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “We have 30 tankers to transport 200 MT oxygen when required. So there will be no shortage or crisis. “