Even after more than one year of Covid-19 pandemic’s existence, no oxygen plant has been put up in Jammu. The lives of many patients is on risk as the oxygen tank in GMC gets refilled by the liquid oxygen supplied from Himachal Pradesh.
“The Government initiated a fund of Rs. 18 crores for the oxygen plant. Yet, a contract of 11 crores for 2 years has been given to a private tender from Himachal. Is the Administration sure that the process is safe for the patients?” Social activist Somnath Dagotra said
“No good amount of beds, ventilators or oxygen cylinders are provided for the positive patients. They need to travel to other states for oxygen. What if they die during travelling? The Government must focus on this matter.” He added
As per Dagotra, an initiative for the oxygen plant was taken way back when Choudhary Lal Singh was the Health Minister. However, the Government changed and the matter wasn’t taken on a serious note. “Jammu would have had its own oxygen plant since 2017 if the Administration had invested money in a positive direction.”
He further added that “If Himachal falls short of oxygen, why would it give it to us without saving its own people? Oxygen is something you cannot wait for minutes. A life can within seconds. The workers must take care of the tank and the Government should initiate the construction of an oxygen plant.”
