NTPC takes various initiatives to curb COVID infections; sets up 600 oxygen beds

State-owned NTPC has taken various efforts to deal with the COVID situation, including setting up of 600 oxygen beds and 1,200 isolation beds at its projects and surrounding areas. In a statement on Thursday, the power ministry said NTPC has not only ensured uninterrupted power supply during the second wave of COVID but has also made significant efforts to combat the spread of COVID by enhancing medical infrastructure in different parts of the country. NTPC came forward and developed more than 600 oxygen beds and 1,200 isolation beds at its different projects and surroundings on a war-footing basis in a span of one week which proved to be life saviour for many, including the general public, the statement said.

The company has been working in close coordination with the state and district administration and has augmented medical infrastructure even in remote locations. In the NCR (National Capital Region) alone, NTPC has set up 200 oxygen-supported beds and 140 isolation. This infrastructure in NCR has been set up at Dadri, Noida and Badarur which have facility of oxygen support, COVID testing, invasive and non-invasive ventilators besides 24X7 nursing and medical care. This has been created at a cost of Rs 30 crore, as per the statement. NTPC has engaged more than 40 doctors, hundreds of paramedical and supporting staff and seven round-the-lock oxygen-supported ambulances to manage the facility.

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A 500-bed hospital at a cost of Rs 400 crore, with state-of-the-art facility constructed by NTPC in Sundragarh, Odisha in a record time has been converted into a COVID hospital. The company has also provided 20 ventilators. Further, the company is providing additional 40 ventilators to the hospital and NTPC Darlipali is extending assistance for setting up 30 ICU beds in Jharsuguda. According to the statement, NTPC has created 250 oxygen-supported beds, 20 HDUs (High Dependency Units) and 10 ICUs (Intensive Care Units) at district hospital of Khargone, Madhya Pradesh at a cost of Rs 2.24 crore. In Jharkhand, the company has provided Rs 53 lakh-financial assistance to set up 15 ICU beds along with oxygen supply system at a community health centre.

Also, PakriBarwadhi, a mining project of NTPC at Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, has made centralised medical gas pipeline system at RIMS, Ranchi and ITKETI, Ranchi and Hazaribagh Medical College at a cost of Rs 1 crore. During the ongoing crisis, various NTPC projects have provided more than 2,000 industrial cylinders to district administrations which are being converted and used as medical oxygen cylinders. The company is also setting up more than two dozen oxygen generation plants, and some of them will have the facility of bottling and refilling oxygen cylinders. Out of them, 9 PSA-type plants and 2 bottling plants are being set up in NCR. A 600 LPM PSA-type oxygen plant is being set up at a community health centre in Rajasthan at a cost of nearly Rs 1 crore for which purchase order has already been placed, as per the statement.

A total of more than Rs 12 crore is being spent by NTPC for setting up the oxygen generation plants. Among other initiatives, NTPC projects in association with CISF Fire wing are taking up mass sanitisation programme in over hundreds of villages and towns. Till date, NTPC has vaccinated more than 70,000 people across its operations which include employees, their dependents and community people.