Bhilai Steel Plant becomes lifesaver for Covid patients requiring medical oxygen

Liquid Medical Oxygen supplied from Bhilai Steel Plant has proved to be a lifeline for numerous COVID-19 patients in different hospitals, not only in Bhilai and other districts of Chhattisgarh but for many other states as well.

Durg (Chhattisgarh): At a time when there is a shortage of medical oxygen in several parts of the country, Bhilai Steel Plant has proved to be a lifeline for numerous COVID-19 patients in different hospitals, not only in Chhattisgarh but also for many other states as well by Supplying liquid medical oxygen.

The steel plant requires oxygen gas for steel manufacturing and for oxygen enrichment in Blast Furnaces, apart from some general purposes like lancing and gas cutting. Dozens of employees at SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh are engaged in manufacturing oxygen continuously for 24 hours.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, BSP Public Relations Officer and Deputy General Manager Prashant Tiwari said, "Our employees are working in three different shifts. The production of oxygen is going on continuously so that oxygen is made available to people on time. For this, the employees of BSP are discharging their duties with full dedication and honesty."

"SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant has achieved a new recognition in the country and abroad with its excellent works. BSP has established India as a producer of quality steel globally. In the corona crisis, the oxygen produced by the Bhilai Steel Plant has given life to millions of people.

The Oxygen Plant-2 operated by Bhilai Steel Plant is continuously producing 25 tonnes of medical oxygen and 240 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen by using every available option to produce life-saving gas. In all, Bhilai Steel Plant is producing 265 tonnes of medical oxygen per day," Tiwari added.

"The employees of Bhilai Steel Plant are working continuously during the time of this tragedy. Data from Bhilai Steel Plant shows that from April 1 to April 26, BSP has produced 4830 million tonnes of liquid medical oxygen out of which 149 million tonnes are produced at BSP’s Oxygen Plant 2 and 4681 million tonnes of liquid medical oxygen at its Prox Air equipment. The oxygen produced at BSP has been given to various States along with Chhattisgarh," he said.

13,002 MT OXYGEN SUPPLIED TILL MARCH 31

The Bhilai Steel Plant has supplied 13,002 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen from August to March 31 last year, which is being used in hospitals in different states of the country. Out of this, 5921 metric tonnes of medical liquid medical oxygen has been given to Telangana. Apart from this, 2640 metric tonnes of oxygen have been supplied to Madhya Pradesh, 1955 metric tonne to Chhattisgarh, 999 metric tonnes to Maharashtra, 665 metric tonnes to Andhra Pradesh, 389 metric tonnes to Uttar Pradesh, 190 metric tonnes to Odisha, 154 metric tonnes to Gujarat and 89 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen to Karnataka.

350 TONNES OF OXYGEN IS BEING SENT EVERY DAY AFTER 15 APRIL

As the demand for oxygen has increased from across the country, the supply figures have also gone up. Since April 15, the BSP has been supplying 350 tonnes of oxygen per day to hospitals, although only 265 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen is being produced at BSP. It had stored the earlier oxygen in large storage tanks. In view of the increasing demand for oxygen, the BSP has now started giving the remaining oxygen to various States so that people get oxygen as much as possible and their lives are saved.

BSP’S OXYGEN BECOMES LIFESAVER FOR CHHATTISGARH

The second wave of Covid-19 has badly affected Chhattisgarh too. Oxygen manufactured in BSP remains a lifeline for Chhattisgarh, too. Between April 1 2020 and April 15, 2021, a total of 2410.25 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen has been supplied to Chhattisgarh state, which is playing an important role in saving the lives of people in hospitals in different cities of the State.

Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital, BSP, one of the largest hospitals in the state, is getting oxygen from the plant. It has supplied 6,016 oxygen cylinders for the patients including 2,111 cylinders in 15 days of April 2021 in view of the increasing number of patients. BSP Durg is supplying oxygen free of cost to the district administration.

BSP provided 161 oxygen cylinders to Durg district administration from 31 March to 15 April at free of cost.