Keypoints:
- Amid the rise of Covid cases in the country, several states have been facing serious shortage of oxygen.
- Court has said that the Centre should be considering all possible ways to to transport oxygen to the hospitals, either by creating a dedicated corridor or airlifting it.
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court asked the Centre regarding the issue of several hospitals facing serious shortage of oxygen supply and asked why is the Centre not understanding the gravity of the situation.
The country is constantly witnessing spike in Covid-19 cases, due to which the demand for oxygen supply has also increased with various hospitals running out if oxygen supplies.
Delhi High Court has criticised Centre over the oxygen crisis in several states and it wondered why is the Centre not waking up to the gravity of the situation.
“We are shocked and dismayed that hospitals are running out of oxygen but steel plants continue to function,” the court said.
The bench was led by Justice Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli. They said that the responsibility to ensure oxygen supply is squarely on central government shoulders and if necessary, entire supply of oxygen to industries including steel and petroleum can be diverted for medical usage.
“You are not exploring all avenues to augment oxygen supply. Beg, borrow or steal,” it said.
The Court also said that the Centre should consider all possible ways and means to transport oxygen to hospitals. They should either create a dedicated corridor or airlift it.
“The steel and petrochemical industries are oxygen guzzlers and diverting oxygen from there can meet hospitals’ requirements,” the bench said.
The bench noted how Tata has decided to divert oxygen for medical use and it wondered why other companies have not done the same yet.
“If Tatas can divert oxygen they are generating for their steel plants to medical use, why can’t others? This is height of greed,” it said.
“Our concern is not just for Delhi, we want to know what the central government is doing with regard to oxygen supply across India,” the bench asked.
