Minister for RDPR K.S. Eshwarappa has said that the oxygen plant at Visvesaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISP) at Bhadravati will be operational soon. Once the plant is activated, the hospitals in Shivamogga district will get sufficient medical oxygen to meet the increasing demand.
Mr. Eshwarappa, who is also Minister in charge of the district, spoke to presspersons after holding a meeting with officers in Shivamogga on Wednesday. The district administration had consulted the VISP administration for oxygen production. “Minister for Industries Jagdish Shettar, who has been entrusted with the responsibility of oxygen supply to hospitals, will be visiting Bhadravati on Thursday to hold talks on restarting the oxygen plant”, he said.
The oxygen plant has the capacity to produce 320 kilo litres per day. However, its bottling capacity is only 8-kilo litres per day. “They produce only gaseous oxygen. We will discuss if its production capacity can be enhanced tomorrow”, he said.
Further, the Minister said that the State government had given approval to the districts to appoint staff members, required to treat COVID-19 patients. The Deputy Commissioner would hire the people necessary, he added.
