An interim report by a Supreme Court-appointed audit group on Friday stated that the Delhi government exaggerated its oxygen requirement by four times during the COVID-19 second wave peak in April-May, when hospitals across the country were inundated with patients and were sending SOS messages to the Centre for increased oxygen supply.
The exaggeration could have "triggered a crisis" in the oxygen supply to 12 states reporting a high number of active COVID-19 cases, the interim report was quoted as saying.
However, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia dismissed the claims and said, "The members of Oxygen Audit Committee in Delhi have not yet approved or signed any such report as BJP leaders have been claiming since morning."
He added," My request to the friends of the media is also to ask the BJP for a signed, approved copy of the so-called report by the members of the audit committee, about which the BJP is trying to mislead."
मीडिया के मित्रों से भी मेरा आग्रह है कि बीजेपी से उस reतथाकथित रिपोर्ट की- ऑडिट कमेटी के सदस्यों द्वारा signed, approved कॉपी तो माँगिए जिसके बारे में बीजेपी बरगलाने की कोशिश कर रही है.
मामला मा. सुप्रीम कोर्ट की बनाई कमेटी का है, BJP-HQ में बनी किसी कमेटी का थोड़े ही है.
— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) June 25, 2021
What does the interim report say?
According to Times of India, the audit team's interim report said, "The actual oxygen consumption claimed by the Delhi government (1,140 MT) was about four times higher than the calculated consumption as per the formula based on the bed capacity (289 MT)."
The Petroleum and Oxygen Safety Organisation (PESO) reportedly submitted to the panel that "the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) had surplus oxygen, which is affecting liquid medical oxygen supply to other states".
The panel is headed by AIIMS Delhi director Randeep Guleria and its other members are: Delhi Government principal home secretary Bhupinder Bhalla, Max Healthcare director Sandeep Buddhiraja, Union Jal Shakti Ministry joint secretary Subodh Yadav, and Sanjay Kumar Singh of the Petroleum and Oxygen Safety Organisation (PESO).
The panel's interim report also noted that four Delhi hospitals were claiming high oxygen consumption despite having "very few beds".
"It was noted that four hospitals in Delhi — Singhal Hospital, Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital, ESIC Model Hospital, and Liferay Hospital — have claimed extremely high oxygen consumption with very few beds and the claims appeared to be clearly erroneous, leading to extremely skewed information and significantly higher oxygen requirement for entire state of Delhi," the interim report said.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear submissions over the interim report on 30 June.
According to News18, the audit group calculated the city's oxygen requirement based on data gathered from 260 hospitals.
"In its interim report to the SC, the sub-group said it drafted a proforma to 'calculate accurate oxygen requirement of NCTD' and circulated it among 260 hospitals. As many as 183 hospitals, including all major ones, responded with oxygen consumption data, which was analysed against three parameters — actual consumption of oxygen, requirement as per Centre’s formula and Delhi government’s formula," News18 reported.
War of words between AAP, BJP over report
The report has triggered a war of words between the BJP and the AAP, with the saffron party claiming that the Delhi government jeopardised the oxygen supply to other states and the AAP accusing the BJP of misleading the public.
"Because of Arvind Kejriwal's lies, 12 states were affected due to the oxygen supply as the quantity of oxygen had to be cut off from everywhere and sent to Delhi. It is unbelievable to see that Kejriwal and the Delhi government politicised oxygen supply when COVID-19 was at its peak. This is such petty politics. The data presented by Oxygen Audit Committee in the report is shocking," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged on Friday.
Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and Piyush Goyal echoed Patra's comments and demanded "accountability" from the Delhi government.
"SC oxygen audit team finds Delhi Govt inflated oxygen need by 4 times during peak and affected supply to 12 high caseload states. Hope accountability is fixed for disrupting oxygen supply across India," Goyal alleged.
ऑक्सीजन की मांग जितनी थी उससे 4 गुना ज्यादा की और बाकि प्रदेशों को उसका नुकसान उठाना पड़ा, उनको कमी पड़ी। शोर मचाना कोई दिल्ली सरकार से सीखें।@BJP4Delhi@BJP4Indiahttps://t.co/SpanSkssF6
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) June 25, 2021
However, Sisodia said in a press conference, "The Supreme Court constituted oxygen audit committee has not approved any report yet. Then, which is this report that BJP leaders have been quoting? I challenge the BJP to bring this report signed by members of the oxygen audit committee."
Addressing an important Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/7qh3bSOnJt
— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) June 25, 2021
What was the situation of oxygen shortage in Delhi during second wave?
The National Capital was one of the worst-hit states at the peak of the second wave in April and May. Several COVID-19 patients died allegedly due to a lack of oxygen and directors of hospitals were emotional in their appeal for more oxygen.
On 5 May, an apex court bench lead by Justice DY Chandrachud had directed the Centre to keep up an oxygen supply of 700 MT to Delhi. In the same hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had submitted that as per experts, the National Capital's need is around 415 MT.
The Arvind Kejriwal government had frequently raised an alarm about its depleting oxygen supply. On 20 April, the single-day tally of new cases in the National Capital was 28,000.
On 25 April, 20 COVID-19 patients died at the Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi, while the hospital administration waited for their stock of oxygen to be replenished. Additionally, on 2 May, 12 people died in Delhi's Batra Hospital after the hospital ran out of oxygen.
"Oxygen pressure has dipped as we are running out of stock," Jaipur Golden Hospital's medical director DK Baluja was quoted as saying by PTI, as news surfaced of patients dying in the intervening night.
On that day, hospitals across the National Capital Region and other states sent out desperate messages for help on social media and other platforms every few hours, flagging their dwindling stocks of oxygen while Centre scrambled to mitigate the fallout from the severe shortage of crucial resource.
In the National Capital, the Delhi High Court questioned the Centre about its preparedness to deal with the expected peak of the second wave of COVID-19 in May and termed the current exponential rise in cases as a "tsunami".
What steps has the Delhi govt taken since?
In an online briefing on 12 June, as the AAP government prepared to lift restrictions in a phased manner with COVID-19 cases decreasing, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that his administration is working to boost oxygen production capacity on a "war footing" ahead of a likely third wave of COVID-19.
He cautioned that the chances of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were quite real, and said, "Indications are coming from the UK on the fear of the third wave. Cases are rising there, despite 45 percent of vaccination. So, we cannot afford to sit idle."
He was speaking to the media after inaugurating 22 new PSA oxygen plants at nine hospitals across Delhi.
"These new oxygen plants at nine hospitals across Delhi being added today to strengthen our preparations to fight COVID-19," he said.
The Delhi government also procuring oxygen tankers to equip system to fight COVID-19 in case of third wave, Kejriwal added.
With inputs from PTI
from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3xPL2B0
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