Traffic jams caused by farmer protests delaying medical oxygen supply to Delhi hospitals

Representative Image (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

It was a thin line of 30 minutes between life and death at Delhi’s GTB Hospital on April 21. The fate of more than 500 critical COVID-19 patients was hanging in balance as the hospital’s oxygen stock was not expected to last beyond 2 am.

What added to the concerns was the traffic jam and re-routing that oxygen suppliers had to suffer for weeks in the border areas of Delhi, including the Ghazipur and Singhu border, due to the farmer protests.

Luckily, one oxygen tanker reached the hospital at 1.30 am through a dedicated corridor created by the police, saving all lives.

The ongoing farmers protests may well be a cause of concern for the timely supply of life-saving gas in Delhi in the coming days. In several hospitals of the National Capital Region (NCR), oxygen stock exists only for a day, as compared to the three days since the COVID outbreak.

 Traffic advisory

For those coming to Delhi through the Ghazipur area, the police have already given advisory to take routes through Anand Vihar, DND, Loni DND and Apsara borders. The entry and exit points between Delhi and Haryana through Singhu, Tikri, Auchandi, Piau Manyari and Saboli and Mangesh were also closed.

In this area, the advisory is to take an alternative route through Lampur Safiabad, Palla and Singhu school toll tax borders.

 Delays, detours

According to a message from Inox Air Products that government sources shared with Moneycontrol, liquid medical oxygen to the Paschim Vihar hospital from its plant in Modi Nagar was delayed by two hours on April 20 due to traffic jam owing to the protest. The company reportedly had to travel an additional 100 km because of the protests.

Inox Air Products supplies 50 percent of the oxygen requirement in India.

A similar concern was also raised in the Singhu border area as oxygen supply from Indian Oil Corporation’s Panipat refinery had to be diverted through other routes.

 Current oxygen capacity

Inox’s current capacity across the country is around 2,300 metric tonnes per day, supplying a major share of the total demand of close to 5,000 MTPD now. The country has a total capacity of 7,200 MTPD of medical oxygen.

The demand is high in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. India recorded the second-highest daily case count ever by a country since the COVID breakout early this week, adding 294,000 fresh cases with the death toll crossing 2,000 in a single day in a 24-hour period.

In Delhi, if traffic jams from farmer protests continue, it will only add to the concerns.

 Green corridor

According to a source, Inox Air Products has already approached the Delhi government, seeking a green corridor, citing the delay at the two border areas due to the protests.

The company refused to comment on the issue. “We have not written any letter to the government,” an Inox official said.