No need to panic as India have enough stock of liquid oxygen: MHA

Amid reports of severe oxygen shortages at health care facilities across various states in India, a senior official from the Union home ministry said that there was no need to panic as India had enough stock of liquid oxygen.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the additional secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Piyush Goyal, on Monday said that while the oxygen production capacity has been ramped up significantly, the problem currently lies in its transportation.

“No need to panic over the availability of oxygen in the country, we have enough stock. We are only facing problems in its transportation,” the home ministry official said.

The



official told the media that the ministry was working to reduce transportation timing. A proper SoP on oxygen supply is being prepared, he said.

Piyush Goyal said that the production of oxygen in India has increased from 7269 MT to 9103 MT in a matter of days.

“Today we have asked the states and Union Territories to limit the supply of oxygen for only healthcare and army needs,” he said.

Detailing methods being adopted to solve issues of oxygen transportation, the home ministry official said usually the oxygen is supplied in cryogenic tankers and cylinders. “However, in the face of a crisis, we have asked states to convert nitrogen tankers into oxygen tankers,” he said.