From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, May 11: Oxygen produced in Karnataka must be allotted to Karnataka alone as far as possible as per the state government’s request to the centre, health and family welfare minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters, he said the centre has supplied 120 tonnes of oxygen to Karnataka by rail through six containers.

While appreciating the centre’s help in supplying oxygen to the state, Dr Sudhakar said there will not be any transport problems if the oxygen produced in Karnataka is allotted to the state itself as it takes at least three to four days for the containers to reach the state by train.

Minister Dr Sudhakar (file photo)

"We have written a detailed letter to union railway minister Piyush Goel and submitted our request to the centre,’’ he said and expressed the hope that the issue will be resolved soon.

The minister said the state government has received assurances about the allotment of an additional 125 to 150 metric tonnes of oxygen to the state.

30 ventilators to Dakshina Kannada

Dr Sudhakar explained that the oxygen supply to each district is based on the number of active cases. The information pertaining to the active cases and demand for oxygen is placed by the officers of the districts concerned.

Coastal Dakshina Kannada district is being provided with 30 ventilators. The district already has 150 ventilators.

He said Hassan district is being provided with 50 ventilators.

The minister stressed the need for public awareness about strictly following the Covid safety guidelines and said the attitude of blaming the government for everything will not help as people also have responsibilities for ensuring the safety and protection of themselves and their loved ones.

It takes at least 14 days to recover from Covid infections, he said and asked the people to maintain self-restraint and try to remain at home as far as possible as unnecessary moving around would complicate matters.

Medical experts have warned that the Covid second wave is aggressively spreading and it is necessary to face the problems by following the norms and by being careful, he added.