Adequate oxygen supply for 10 days, Chandigarh Administration tells HC

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 22

Amid the rising number of Covid cases in the city, the UT Administration today told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the government hospitals had adequate oxygen supply for the next nine or 10 days.

Appearing before the Bench of Justice Rajan Gupta and Justice Karamjit Singh, UT senior standing counsel Pankaj Jain submitted that the government hospitals in Sector 16 and Sector 48, besides the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32, had got pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generators installed. Jain also told the Bench that the generators would be operational by this evening. PSA generators separate oxygen from compressed air, consisting of approximately 21 per cent oxygen.

PSA oxygen generators installed

Appearing before the Bench of Justice Rajan Gupta and Justice Karamjit Singh, UT senior standing counsel Pankaj Jain submitted that the government hospitals in Sector 16 and Sector 48, besides the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32, had got pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generators installed.

Available information suggests the generators will go a long way in augmenting the oxygen supply to patients. The PSA generation plant installed at the Sector 32 hospital, with the help of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is expected to suffice at least 50 per cent of the total oxygen demand. It is expected to generate 1,000 LPM per day.

Available information suggests the plant will provide round-the-clock oxygen supply and will help meet the oxygen demand in the hospital during the pandemic. It will also reduce the number of oxygen cylinders. The plant will generate oxygen from air and it will be delivered to patients through the medical gas pipeline system.

The High Court, on the previous date of hearing, had made the UT Administration a party in the ongoing case on pandemic management. The Bench had put the Administration on notice after taking cognisance of the “grim” situation in the region following a surge in Covid cases, including the non-availability of beds in hospitals and “depleted” oxygen supply.

Estate Office closed today

Chandigarh: Deputy Commissioner-cum-Estate Officer Mandip Singh Brar has ordered that the UT Estate Office will be closed on April 23 as its 10-12 officials and employees have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past few days. A few employees have been quarantined due to positive cases in their families. Brar said however, the staff involved in urgent matter and court cases could attend the office for their work. He also gave directions to sanitise the office.