Hyderabad: In an urgent attempt to make sure there is no oxygen shortage in the near future, the Telangana Government has decided to import 12 cryogenic tankers from China, each costing Rs 1 crore.
To check the spread of COVID-19, and look after the critically ill, the Telangana government has requested the Centre for the immediate release of oxygen and vaccines to the state as well. According to a report by TribuneIndia, KCR spoke to Prime Minister Modi and sought immediate assistance.
The chief minister’s office said that KCR brought to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s notice that the state is not getting oxygen from Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu and Bellary in Karnataka. The report said that KCR also pointed out that with Hyderabad emerging as a medical hub, many people from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh are making a beeline for treatment in the city that placed an additional burden on the medical infrastructure in Hyderabad.
KCR told Modi that 50 per cent of the patients in the city are from other states, and this resulted in an adverse impact on the availability of oxygen, vaccines, and the Remdesivir injections. “A lockdown would create a lot of hardship to the daily wagers and all those who lived from day-to-day on small earnings,” KCR said. The state has imposed a dawn to dusk curfew-like restrictions, but said there would be no complete lockdown.
At present, Telangana has 9,500 beds with oxygen that would be increased by another 5,000 beds within a week according to a report by TribuneIndia. The report stated that KCR has asked Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to import 12 cryogenic tankers each costing Rs 1 crore from China and instructed him to complete the process immediately.
Furthermore, as many as 5,980 Covid outpatient centres were established at primary health centres and community and health hospitals in the state and asked people to utilise services at these centres. Many states have announced a mandatory 14-day institutional quarantine for travellers from Telangana. Critics say it’s because KCR has ruled out the possibility of imposing a lockdown in the state.
Similar orders have been passed for people travelling from the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh.