Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (MS)
Udupi, May 8: The number of coronavirus infected patients in the district is increasing day-by-day. So is the demand for oxygen beds. The district hospital at Ajjarkad has oxygen unit of 6,000 litre capacity, which is sufficient to cater to their requirement. The district administration, which is aware of this shortcoming has installed an oxygen refilling unit at a private company at Belapu.
It is 10 days since installing the industrial and medical oxygen refilling unit of 20,000 cubic meter capacity at KIADB industrial area by S N Cryogenic Private Limited. It is serving the public of the district 24x7.
Dinesh Bangera, general manager of S N Cryogenic, informed that their unit is supplying oxygen at lower price and quickly to more than 40 hospitals of government as well as private sector of the district.
Liquid oxygen supply is not commensurate with the demand at present. As per the order of the state government, industrial oxygen cylinder are being brought back and converted into oxygen cylinders.
Hospitals and industries of Udupi district are dependent on three oxygen units functioning at Baikampady and Karnad industrial areas. After the Belapu unit started functioning, the dependency on outside districts is reduced.
Liquid oxygen required for refilling is procured from Thorangal near Ballari, Bengaluru and Kochi. At a time 20,000 Cubic Meter of liquid oxygen (-180 degrees) is procured and processed as gas and filled into cylinders. Though this unit has the capacity to refill 3,000 cylinders at a time, now it is filling 600 to 700 cylinders.
Dinesh says that they are working under pressure as the hospitals which were demanding 10 oxygen cylinders earlier have raised their demand to 40 cylinders. Similarly, the ones who were buying 50 cylinders are placing orders for 200 cylinders.
From Bahrain 40 metric tonnes of oxygen has arrived to Mangaluru. Udupi has already got its share of 10,000 tonnes. However, due to some technological issues only 5,000 tonnes is supplied so far. Proper transportation facility needs to be made to transport the oxygen.
Only when the oxygen tanker is filled completely it is possible to refill due to low pressure from high pressure. If the oxygen level is less, much of it gets wasted in the process of refilling.
Speaking to Daijiworld, Dinesh said, “The district administration and people representatives have given excellent cooperation in order to set up this unit. Every taluk should have an oxygen plant. Then the pressure on hospitals will reduce. Sometimes, though we have sufficient stock of oxygen, we do not have cylinders to fill. It is utmost important to save the lives of coronavirus patients in the present situation. Many small scale industries and garages in the district have oxygen cylinders lying with them. If they return the same to their agencies, we can save the lives of more patients of Covid.”
Dinesh also said that if more liquid oxygen is supplied to their unit, they can refill and sent to other districts also.