Delhi oxygen crisis: No oxygen left in 6 private hospitals, Manish Sisodia releases list

As many as six private hospitals of the national capital have exhausted their oxygen stocks, a list released by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday showed.

In his letter to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Sisodia said that while some hospitals have a few hours of oxygen supply left, supply at six private hospitals has dried up.

Saroj Super Specialty Hospital, Shanti Mukund Hospital, Tirath Ram Shah Hospital, UK Nursing Home, Rathi Hospital and Santom Hospital have run out of oxygen, the Delhi government said.

Meanwhile, the Saroj Super Speciality Hospital, dedicated to Covid cases, told the Delhi High Court today that shortly after filing petition, it has received an oxygen tanker for treating seriously ill patients.

Besides, only 2.5 hours of oxygen is left at the Holy Family Hospital, which faced a severe shortage on Wednesday as well.

The Delhi Deputy CM alleged that tankers carrying oxygen were not able to reach hospitals in the national capital as they were being stalled by police and officials in UP and Haryana.

"Police and senior officials of the administration in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are stalling the tankers carrying oxygen, delaying the tankers from reaching Delhi hospitals on time," Sisodia wrote in the letter.

"I urge you ensure that the oxygen allocated for Delhi by the Centre reaches there without any delay to save lives of the patients," he stated.

Earlier today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sought help from his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar to facilitate the transport of oxygen trucks from Haryana to Delhi following which Haryana allocated 140 Matric tonne (MT) oxygen allotted to the Capital.

The government today directed states to ensure uninterrupted production and supply of medical oxygen and its transport along inter-state borders and said the district magistrate and superintendent of police of the district concerned will be held responsible if there is any violation of its order.

The directive under the stringent Disaster Management Act 2005 was issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla in the wake of reports that some states blocked supply of medical oxygen to other states amid a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases and demand for it.

'Beg, borrow, steal': Court to Centre on oxygen crisis

The Delhi High Court directed the Centre yesterday night to beg, borrow or steal or do whatever to supply medical oxygen to hospitals for treatment of Covid-19 patients.

"How is the government so oblivious of the reality on ground. You cannot have people die because of no oxygen. You take your own sweet time and people die," the HC said.

It further added, "You are concerned with industries while people die. An emergency of such a nature. That means human lives don't matter for the government."

The court said that the oxygen requirement has gone up several times. "It is the centre's responsibility to ensure sufficient supply. We direct them to protect the fundamental right to life, by whatever means," it added.

Meanwhile, Delhi logged 24,638 fresh Covid-19 cases and 249 deaths due to the viral disease on Wednesday while the positivity rate stood at 31.28%, meaning almost every third sample tested positive, amid a growing clamour for oxygen and hospital beds in the city.

The national capital's cumulative tally rose to 9,30,179 and the death toll stood at 12,887, according to Wednesday's health bulletin.