Industries can wait, not patients: Delhi HC slams Centre over oxygen shortage

Delhi High Court on Tuesday slammed the Centre for a delayed response in diverting oxygen supply from industrial use to hospitals amid a surge in demand, saying that “blood is on their hands”. 

“Why wait till April 22 to ban the use of oxygen by industries? Why not immediately? People need oxygen now” the court said while hearing a case over shortage of oxygen supply.

The court further elaborated that if nothing is done to fix the alarming shortage of oxygen then the “country will head for bigger disaster”. 

Also read: Whether 16 or 60 give it to those who want: HC to Centre on vaccine wastage 

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli requested the Centre to divert the oxygen supplied to industries to the coronavirus patients. “Industries can wait. Patients cannot. Human lives are at stake,” they said. 

The Ministry of Health had earlier told the court that they have banned the use of oxygen by industries, with the exception of certain critical industries, from April 22. 

They said that the projected medical oxygen requirement submitted by the Delhi government has increased to 133% of the initial estimate of 300 metric tonnes, which was revised at 700 metric tonnes. 

Delhi government hospitals have been provided with around 1,390 ventilators by the Centre. 

The Health Ministry also said that eight Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Generation plants are being installed in Delhi to increase the medical oxygen capacity in Delhi with the support of the PM CARES Fund. 

Also read: 100 new hospitals to get their own oxygen plants under PM CARES Fund 

India is witnessing the second wave recording over 1,761 Covid related deaths in the last 24 hours, the biggest one day spike the country has seen and over 2.60 lakh new cases.