Pratap Simha seeks district-wise quota for oxygen distribution

The State’s lack of a strong mechanism for oxygen distribution to districts based mostly on precise necessities, is coming to the fore with the elected representatives squabbling over oxygen allocation.

Mysuru MP Pratap Simha on Friday took exception to Ministers K.C. Narayana Gowda and S. Suresh Kumar allegedly monitoring and personally overseeing the transportation of oxygen cylinders to Mandya and Chamarajanagar from a personal refilling company in Mysuru.

Mr. Simha mentioned Mysuru was making certain equitable provide of oxygen based mostly on calls for and the “overbearing angle’’ of the Ministerswas uncalled for and amounted to creating mistrust amongst completely different districts.

“They can’t use the Chamarajanagar tragedy as a pretext to commandeer the refilling plant in Mysuru to make sure provide to their districts. Instead of coming to Mysuru they need to sit with the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary to put their necessities’’, mentioned Mr. Simha.

The situation additionally got here up within the assembly convened by the Mysuru district in-charge Minister S. Somashekar a day earlier and elected representatives of the area spoke strongly towards such alleged practices. Mr. Somashekar mentioned he’ll search the intervention of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to make sure that the Mysuru’s requirement of 48 kilolitres of oxygen per day was not affected.

Mr. Simha, who heads the not too long ago constituted activity drive to make sure and monitor the supply of oxygen and remdesivir within the district, mentioned Mysuru too had its necessities and was getting half of its 48 KL per day necessities whereas there have been greater than 100 hospitals within the district.

“I’ll write to the Chief Minister to repair a quota for every district based mostly on the variety of COVID-19 instances and the requirement’, he mentioned.

The MP sought to tighten the monitoring mechanism on the refilling plant in Mysuru and put in CCTV cameras in order to “hold a tab’’ on the dispatch of cylinders personally.

“Another crew will likely be stationed on the premises with log books and it’ll make entry on the variety of oxygen cylinders dispatched to completely different districts and hospitals.’

Mr. Simha informed mediapersons the prevailing load of COVID-19 sufferers on the hospitals was crippling and these numbers are anticipated to double by the point the second wave peaks. Hence it was crucial for the districts to evaluate their oxygen necessities and write to the federal government to make sure their provides. In a bid to cut back load on the prevailing system, the district has sought 200 further oxygen concentrators, Mr. Simha mentioned, including that oxygen storage and refilling crops will likely be established in all taluks in the end.