NEW DELHI (CU)_Many hospitals struggling to get oxygen for COVID-19 patients in India’s capital New Delhi have now decided to take their worries to court, as the government continues to quarrel over who is to be blamed for the dangerous shortage of the life-saving gas. Petitions were filed to a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court, which has been holding video conferences, almost on a daily basis, with these hospitals who are invoking the country’s constitutional right to protection of life. Fortunately, these efforts of the hospital authorities appear to be paying off.
For instance, at the time when the Sitaram Bhartia Hospital decided to approach the Delhi court, they were left with just 30 minutes of oxygen supply sufficient for 42 patients. However, following the hearing, the judges ordered the state government of Delhi to immediately arrange supplies. According to officials, several oxygen cylinders were delivered soon after the hearing, while a tank arrived a few hours later.
For about two weeks now, the capital city 20 million people has been running short of medical oxygen supply, leading to unprecedented incidents of patients dying, not only on hospital beds, but also in ambulances and car parks outside hospitals. New Delhi, which has been receiving less than 490 tonnes of medical oxygen from the federal government, says that it needs nearly twice that amount to treat about 20,000 new infections reported each day.
The federal government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is responsible for managing the oxygen supplies nationally As many criticise the government for mismanaging the COVID crisis in the country, PM Modi’s representatives say they are doing everything possible to get the situation under control, while blaming the state government of Delhi, run by a rival party, for politicising the issue.
