Jharkhand steel plants pumping O2 to help states tackle oxygen crisis

Jharkhand-based steel plants have come to the rescue of the nation, supplying medical oxygen to various states amid the COVID-19 crisis. Domestic giant Tata Steel has stepped up the supply of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) to 800 tonne per day from its plants, including in Jamshedpur, while SAIL through its arm in Bokaro is pumping O2 to the states that are facing an acute shortage. “Responding to the national urgency, Tata Steel is currently supplying 800 tons per day of LMO to various Indian states and hospitals, through our manufacturing units in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Kalinganagar (Odisha), and Dhenkanal (Odisha),” the company told PTI.

The behemoth is supplying liquid medical oxygen to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha, among others. State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has supplied 4,695 tonnes of LMO to various states since April. “The Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) of SAIL has supplied 4,694.51 metric tonne of liquid medical oxygen to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand from April 1 to May 2, 2021,” an official of the company said. Of this, 1,561.53 tonne was supplied to Uttar Pradesh, followed by 1,000.03 tonne to Bihar, 860.08 tonne to Madhya Pradesh and 858.98 tonne to Jharkhand. BSL also supplied 311.57 tonne of LMO to Punjab, 28.41 tonne to West Bengal, 21.75 tonne to Andhra Pradesh and 19.13 tonne to Maharashtra during the period.

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Linde India’s two plants in Jamshedpur are also supplying oxygen to various states. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren recently said that a total of 58 tonne of LMO was sent to Delhi from the Linde India plant in Jharkhand. Tata Steel said it is currently operating over 1,600 beds at its hospitals across locations in Jharkhand and Odisha. “More than 6,700 people have been vaccinated in our mining locations including Noamundi, West Bokaro and Jamadoba,” it said. The Centre has directed steel companies, including Tata Steel, SAIL and JSPL, to set up 10,000 oxygenated beds for treating COVID-19 patients. While 5,000 beds will be set up by the steel PSUs, another 5,000 will be established by private companies such as Tata Steel, JSPL, JSW Steel and AMNS India, Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said last week.