New Delhi: On Tuesday evening, Delhi health minister, Satyendar Jain pointed at a huge oxygen shortage faced by Guru Teg Bahadur hospital one of the major hospitals working on treating Covid patients.
With only 4 hours of oxygen was left for about 500 critically ill patients, Jain asked he asked Union minister Piyush Goyal for help. The existing supply was not expected to last beyond 2 AM
Just half an hour was left when an Oxygen tanker reached GTB hospital and the lives of the 500 patients could be saved.
“All of us had almost lost hope. We were racing against time. We didn't want the 500 serious patients admitted in our facility to even know about the situation", a doctor told India Today.
“We were honestly praying to God for a miracle to happen. When we saw the oxygen tanker arrive at our premises, the entire staff was in tears," they added.
To discuss the shortage of Oxygen supply, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt. Governor Anil Baijal are to hold a meeting at 11 am today. They are likely to discuss the surging Covid deaths in the union territory as well.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticized the Central government amid the current situation in the country. Speaking to news agency ANI on Wednesday, the Congress leader questioned Centre for being unprepared despite 'Serosurveys indication that 2nd wave is imminent.'
She raised questions about the shortages in supplies, she said: "India's production capacity for oxygen is one of the largest in world. Then why's there a shortage? You had 8-9 months (between first & second wave), your own Serosurveys indicated that a 2nd wave is imminent, you ignored it. You had time. Today, only 2000 trucks in India can transport oxygen. How tragic it is that oxygen is available but it's not reaching where it should."