Senior Citizens in Gurugram with Covid-19 to Get Oxygen Cylinder for Free at Their Doorstep

Senior Citizens in Gurugram with Covid-19 to Get Oxygen Cylinder for Free at Their Doorstep

        From Saturday, Haryana will provide free doorstep delivery of oxygen cylinders to senior citizens and people from economically weaker sections.

     Adviser to the chief minister Anil Rao said on Friday that these people need only to contact their nearest police station to avail the service.

     “Many of them didn’t have their children nearby due to the lockdown in various part of the country, including Haryana. It was difficult for them to seek assistance from the administration and had no support to get oxygen refilled from stations. Many people died this way,” he said. “Similarly, people from economically weaker sections who were not technology savvy could not request for support.”

     Those who would like to avail the service need to provide either doctor’s prescription for oxygen or show their oxygen saturation (SPO2) level on their oximeter. An SPO2 of 95% and above is considered safe.

      “All police officials have been informed to check their records and proactively contact senior citizens in their jurisdiction and the 20 police control room vans converted into ambulances will be ready to assist them. Also, all the resident welfare associations have been asked to ensure they allow domestic helps and medical assistance for them even during the lockdown,” said Rao.

    Since the second wave of Covid-19 gripped the country in April, Haryana soon turned into one of the worst affected states. Like neighbouring Delhi, Gurugram too suffered shortage of oxygen and hospital beds.

   Yash Garg, deputy commissioner of Gurugram, said that there was no oxygen shortage. “We are getting nearly 50 metric tonnes of oxygen and the hospitals have increased Covid beds following which there is no shortage of beds either. The demand is increasing but we are balancing it,” he said.

    Last Sunday, the Gurugram district administration had started doorstep delivery of oxygen to those who needed. The rate of a B-type cylinder of capacity 10 litres was fixed at ₹80, while for D-type cylinder of 46 litres, the cap was at ₹250, with a standard delivery charge of ₹100 per cylinder.

    On Friday, Rao and district officials visited two oxygen refilling plants in Manesar to assess the situation and prevent any disruption.

    “The district administration and police will regularly monitor the capacity and situation at the refilling stations were directed to help anyone coming with an emergency,” said Rao.

   The officials said that they have identified nitrogen and argon gas manufacturing plants that could be converted to manufacture medical oxygen plants, if required. The regional transport authority (RTA) had earlier converted 12 nitrogen and argon tankers into oxygen tankers to transport gas from a plant in Rourkela and Angul of Odisha.

(Source : Hindustan Times)