Karnataka offers incentives to set up medical oxygen production plants


Bengaluru, May 27 (IANS): Reeling under shortage of medical oxygen due to growing demand amid the pandemic's second wave, Karnataka on Wednesday offered incentives to industry to set up the gas production plants in the state.

"We are offering incentives to industrialists for setting up production plants to make the state self-sufficient in medical oxygen," Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said in a statement.

Shettar, who is in-charge of medical oxygen supply to hospitals, said though the state was getting 1,200 tonnes of the gas daily through the Centre to meet the present need, the state government wanted to produce more to meet its demand during the anticipated third wave later this year.

"I have directed my department officials to build oxygen buffer stock in all 31 districts and increase the gas storage capacity by 20 tonnes for emergency use in state-run hospitals," he said.

Of 1,200 tonnes allotted to Karnataka, 830 tonnes are produced in six private plants in the state, 60 tonnes are supplied by small and medium enterprises, and 310 tonnes are transported from other states, including Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha.

The state has also received 150 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen, carried by Indian Navy ships, from Gulf countries like Kuwai, Qatar and the UAE.

"More oxygen in 4 cryogenic tankers through special freight trains are on way to the state from Kalinga in Odisha," said Shettar.

The Industry Department has reactivated 2 state-run defunct plants at KGF (Kolar Gold Field) near Bengaluru and Yadgir to produce 500 tonnes of oxygen each daily.

"In addition, over 100 oxygen generators are being installed across the state to ensure adequate supply to Covid hospitals," added Shettar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

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Comment on this article

  • KS Mayya, Mangalore/Bangalore

    Thu, May 27 2021

    It may be a good idea to provide incentives to hospitals to be self sufficient during peak demand for oxygen production rather than have production somewhere else and spend in its transportation. It is best if Government comes up with a distributed generation strategy to save on transportation costs. In the second wave we learnt that shortage of oxygen was also because it was produced somewhere else and the need was somewhere else in addition to general shortage. As oxygen gas is also produced for industrial use, which may not be medically clean, incentives may be ill directed.

    DisAgree Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Nallasopara

    Thu, May 27 2021

    This Oxygen Factory had been Abandoned ...

    DisAgree [1] Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • Ram Charan, Mangaluru

    Thu, May 27 2021

    Don't understand the rationale behind setting up so many oxygen plants. The normal oxygen demand in the state is one tenth of current requirement of 1200MT. Once Covid ebbs this will be the quantity. Already 100 oxygen generators are being set up which will be up and operating within 2-3 months. The so called medical liquid oxygen plants are capital intensive and take at least 12 months to set up. What they will do with that oxygen when daily requirements fall to 120-150 MT per day? How their operations will be economically viable?

    DisAgree [1] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Dsouza, Mudarangadi/udupi

    Thu, May 27 2021

    Dear RamCharan, this is political game of drawing funds from government treasury. Do you think government is brainless to calcupate about futures oxygen demand?. For now they issue license and incentive funds to their own favoured industrialists and some percentage will come to politicians pocket. Once covid need over plants will be scraped off and government or opposition cant question as they are private bodies.

    DisAgree Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse


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