Punjab lends helping hand to neighbour, saves150 lives

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 5

As hospitals across the country scurry for oxygen amid rising number of Covid cases and deaths, Punjab stepped forward to help neighbouring Haryana in the time of crisis.

As lives of 150-odd patients were in danger due to shortage of oxygen at the General Hospital in Panchkula, Punjab decided to divert some of its supply to the state.

The issue is important in wake of the constant sparring among states over oxygen supply, including the “war” between Punjab and Haryana, where the former had earlier accused the latter of not allowing it to get its allotted oxygen supply from Panipat.

Hit by severe shortage of oxygen late Tuesday night, Panchkula Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja contacted the Oxygen Control Room of the Punjab Government, requesting it to lend 2-2.5 metric tonnes of oxygen as they were left with just two hours of supply.

He reportedly made a case of how lives of over 120 persons on oxygen support and 31 patients on ventilator and BiPAP support in the hospital could be at risk if they did not get the supply on time.

Ahuja said since supply from Roorkee was delayed, they sought Punjab’s help and the neighbouring state helped promptly.

Dr Arvind Sehgal, Senior Medical Officer (Infrastructure), General Hospital, Panchkula, told The Tribune that after they saw that they were running out of oxygen, they spent the last one hour, till Punjab responded to their SOS, on tenterhooks.

“Around midnight, the pressure in the liquid oxygen plant started falling and we immediately shifted the supply of oxygen through 40 oxygen cylinders. Everyone waited with fingers crossed till the life-saving gas from Punjab did not reach here,” he said.

While the Oxygen Control Room of Punjab checked on their own supplies and availability of tankers to ferry the gas in a short span, the matter was escalated by the Panchkula DC with V Umashankar, Principal Secretary to the Haryana CM. He, in turn, took up the matter with Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan at whose intervention it was decided to spare some oxygen from Patiala for Haryana, as Punjab had enough stock to last till noon today.

“The decision to divert the supply was taken keeping in view the extremely sensitive situation and to save lives, but the problem was arranging the tankers to ferry oxygen and filling of these tankers. Once the tankers were requisitioned, the problem then arose that a small quantity (2.5 MT) of oxygen cannot be filled in the available big tankers because of air pressure issues. We then filled 4.5-MT oxygen in the tankers and rushed those to Panchkula, which took 2.5 MT, with a promise to return it today,” confirmed Rahul Tiwari, in charge, Punjab’s Oxygen Control Room.

Late-night crisis in Panchkula

  • Left with just two hours of supply late on Tuesday night, Panchkula DC Mukesh Kumar Ahuja contacted the Oxygen Control Room of Punjab, requesting it to lend 2-2.5 MT oxygen
  • At Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan’s intervention, it was decided to spare some oxygen from Patiala for Haryana
  • Of the 4.5-MT oxygen rushed to Panchkula, 2.5 MT was used with a promise to return it

Punjab lends helping hand to neighbour, saves150 lives
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