Bokaro: The Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL) has curtailed the level of oxygen supply to 11 states due to drop in demand for Oxygen given the decreasing number of Covid cases across the country. BSL’s chief of communication Manikant said, “BSL had supplied 7,375 MT of liquid medical oxygen to 11 states when the second wave of the pandemic was at its peak in May. But now the demand has gone down and last month, BSL had to supply only 601 MT of oxygen to three states—Bihar (105 MT), Uttar Pradesh (210 MT) and Madhya Pradesh (80 MT).”
Upon directives of the Union Ministry of steel, all the five units of Steel Authority of India Limited had switched their liquid oxygen for medical use. BSL had to supply oxygen to Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Out of these 11 states, the mass production of oxygen was consigned to UP (5,381 MT) through special trains. Bihar acquired 4,092 MT, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab received 2,203 MT and 1400 MT respectively and West Bengal received 1099 MT.
Furthermore, BSL plant had to carry out
the supply of oxygen daily through railways and roadways. From Ranchi’s Birsa Munda International Airport, Indian Air Force’s cargo planes had to air freight several cryogenic tankers to the other states. The PSU had also been sustaining free oxygen to government and private hospitals in Bokaro.
