India News | Oxygen Tankers Covering Longer Distances Must Be Given Priority: Parbhani Collector

Aurangabad, Apr 21 (PTI) Tankers carrying oxygen to faraway districts should be given priority for refilling the gas, as they have to cover more distance, the collector of Maharashtra's Parbhani district said.

Tankers from Parbhani are not getting enough oxygen from the plants in Chakan, collector Deepak Muglikar told PTI.

Speaking about the hurdles faced by the administration to procure oxygen from distant places, the senior official said the district currently gets oxygen tankers from Chakan, which is nearly 375 km away and from Bellary, Karnataka, which is around 560 km away.

"Tankers from western Maharashtra districts, which are closer to Bellary get oxygen from there. Our tankers need 16 hours to cover the distance one way, and there is a long queue of tankers there. Our tankers should be given priority, as they have to cover a longer distance," Muglikar said.

The concerned administration should prioritise this, as the waiting time in queue is nearly two days now, the official said.

"We are not getting enough oxygen from Chakan. Parbhani requires 17 tonnes of oxygen, while we are currently getting close to 2 tonnes," he said.

A plant with a capacity to produce 30,000 litres of oxygen will reach Parbhani during the day, he said, adding that the plants in government facilities may take 15 to 20 days to get operational.

According to the district administration, Parbhani has reported 27,298 cases of coronavirus, including 689 deaths so far. The district currently has 5,905 active cases.

At least 700 patients require oxygen for their treatment at present, the collector said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)