Covid second wave: Centre approves two O2 tankers for Punjab
As per a correspondence to chief secretaries of Punjab, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana on Sunday, accessed by The Indian Express, two ISO tankers each having a capacity of 20 MT each have been allocated to Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Four ISO containers having similar capacity have been allocated to Karnataka and two containers (LNG), having a capacity of 17 MT each, have been allocated to Haryana.
“The recipient states shall use these tankers/containers for transport of liquid oxygen (LOX) as per the allocation made by Government of India. IOCL shall manage the inland movement of these tankers in consultation with the state government. The temporary allocation is subject to rationalisation and revision from time to time as decided by Empowered Group of Secretaries,” reads the correspondence.
As the Covid cases registered an upswing and Punjab government set up a control room to monitor supply, demand and distribution of the life saving gas in the last week of April, the demand for oxygen in Punjab has doubled in a fortnight, from 152 metric tonnes to 304 metric tonnes on Sunday.
Punjab has currently 22 big cryogenic tankers for transportation of liquid medical oxygen and around another five for local transportation of the gas from the state and adjoining facilities near the state.
