GUWAHATI: Given the rise in COVID-19 cases and demand for medical oxygen, Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary interacted with the oxygen manufacturing units of Assam and took stock of the present status of the manufacturing capacity of the units through a video conference on Monday. Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Dr KK Dwivedi initiated the discussion.
At present, there are six oxygen manufacturing units in Assam with an installed production capacity of 61 MT daily along with ample storage capacity. There is no shortage of oxygen and the Assam Government, as of Monday, is in a comfortable position with the current daily requirement of oxygen.
Besides, the Government of Assam has installed 10 oxygen separators in the medical colleges and hospitals and 10 additional have been proposed which will be functional in a month. Following this, Assam will be self-sufficient in case of oxygen requirement in the health sector as per today's scenario.
However, Minister Patowary called upon the manufacturers to ramp up the oxygen production and enhance the capacity to be future-ready for any emergency. The Minister told that given the current humanitarian crisis, profit should not be the motive for the oxygen manufacturers and asked them to render services to the people. He assured full government support and the manufacturers agreed to extend all possible cooperation.
Minister Patowary stated that the entire oxygen production will go to the medical hospitals and medical establishments and supply of oxygen will be discontinued to other industries.
Abhijit Barooah, Managing Director, Premier Cryogenics Limited, gave an overview of the oxygen manufacturing scenario and raised the issue of power supply and power subsidy.
The Industry Minister directed the General Managers of DICCs to coordinate with the manufacturers and to promptly address if any issue arises. He further directed the Industry Department to prepare a roadmap in collaboration with the oxygen manufacturers to manage any crisis.
To the queries of the units for uninterrupted power supply, Minister Patowary asked Managing Director, APDCL to ensure smooth power supply and avoid fluctuation for continuous production of oxygen. Commissioner of Transport, Adil Khan assured the industrialists for smooth transportation of the oxygen supply.
Dr Anup Kumar Barman, Director of Medical Education; Rakesh Agarwal, Managing Director, APDCL; Abhijit Barooah, Managing Director, Premier Cryogenics Limited and representatives of various oxygen manufacturing units were present in the meeting, stated a release.