- Let us not beat around the bush anymore and agree for once that there is a definite laxity on the governance front as regards ensuring steady provisioning of liquid medical oxygen that has indeed assumed significance as the single most important entity in the fight against the raging second covid wave in the country. Recurring incidents of people losing precious lives owing to non-availability of oxygen across the country, more specifically metropolitan cities, points to a failure of effective governance. The rate with which the supply side bottlenecks concerning oxygen are increasing by the day as also the number of lives lost reported from several parts of the country.
PC: CHITRESH SEHGAL
- The latest tragedy to strike the country was reported in Chamarajanagara District of Karnataka when 24 Covid-19 patients are reported to have died for want of oxygen. Of course, and as expected, the Karnataka government is quick to point out that there is no dearth of medical oxygen in the state and has offered to conduct an inquiry to ascertain the exact cause of the death. However, people have lost their near and dear ones as also sole breadwinners and are convinced about the failure of the state health authorities to ensure oxygen supply was not disrupted for too long. Sadly, lack of oxygen is becoming symptomatic of the problem bogging the entire nation with no signs of relief in sight in the foreseeable future unless the government’s concerned acts decisively.
- No less than the Supreme Court recently took up a suo moto writ petition in the backdrop of the grave humanitarian crisis starting in the aftermath of the pandemic ravaging across the country. Logistical challenges vis-à-vis oxygen generation, liquification, and most importantly, transportation to desired locations gets short shrift owing to skewed locations mostly situated in far-flung eastern parts where most of the steel plants are located, and who are the major suppliers of oxygen. As these plants are unevenly distributed, allocation of oxygen is decided by the Centre with states entrusted with the responsibilities of organizing transportation of the same.
PC: MAURICIO MUNOZ
- The oxygen requirement for a particular state battered by the rising infection rates is dynamic as also the political incentives to fudge data equally essay a critical role in ensuring desired supplies are always compromised much to the detriment of the patients gasping for breath. One cannot discount the possibility of a state not being able to lift their supply from far away areas as well. The resultant outcome is heart-wrenching scenarios being played out wherein infected patients and family members are desperately attempting to source the oxygen locally rather than rely on the state machinery to undergo treatment to get themselves cured as per the prescribed protocols. A case in point is Delhi which is struggling to provide succor to patients.
- It is a no-brainer that both the Centre and the states have been found woefully inadequate in their preparations to combat the menace of the second covid wave. To compound the unraveling situation on the ground, sheer lack of coordination even at the district levels is severely impeding the efforts to provide relief to the teeming patients. A case in point is the latest incident reported in Karnataka. Rather than indulge in politicizing against the backdrop of deaths, all concerned authorities including the Centre and states should join hands in ensuring oxygen supplies are not disrupted owing to logistical or any other issues. Saving lives at all costs should be prioritized.
