On Saturday, Maharashtra minister Satej Patil accused the neighbouring Karnataka government of “interrupting” oxygen supply to Maharashtra from a steel plant in Bellary, and asked the Centre to intervene.
This oxygen coming from Karnataka, said the minister, was meant for Kolhapur and other districts.
“Today unfortunately the supply of 50MT of oxygen to Maharashtra especially to Western Maharashtra by the central government was interrupted by the Karnataka government. this will lead to a shortage of oxygen in the Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, and Ratnagiri districts” said Minister Patil. Karnataka’s alleged blockade has affected the supply to areas vis a vis Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, and Ratnagiri.
Patil also requested the Centre to work on a singular mission to save the lives of the people who are battling with severe COVID-19 infection. Satej Patil also requested the Center to ensure a flawless supply of oxygen.
Satej Patil took to the microblogging site Twitter and wrote: “After the Karnataka government interrupted the supply of 50 metric tonnes of oxygen meant for Maharashtra from a steel plant in Bellary, Karnataka. To face the projected third wave of Covid-19 infection, Kolhapur has pulled all strings to set maximum oxygen plants under Mission Oxygen of the state government. We are setting up 14 oxygen plants across the district.”
Currently, Kolhapur’s daily oxygen consumption is 50.93 metric tonnes, out of which 35 MT is generated within the district. Keeping the rise in the Covid-19 patients in mind, the district may require 63.66 MT of oxygen daily in the future. The estimated oxygen generation through the proposed plants is 23MT. The proposed oxygen plants have the capacity of filing 1800 cylinders of gas that would cater to at least 1200 patients.