Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi has said that alternative plans are being worked out to enhance oxygen supply to Dharwad district and the enhancement will materialise in the next two days.
Speaking to presspersons after jointly inaugurating the 66-bed makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients on the KIMS Hospital premises in Hubballi on Friday, with Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar, Mr. Joshi said that various options were being worked out to enhance oxygen supply to Dharwad district as many patients from the northern districts of Karnataka come to Hubballi for advanced treatment.
“Apart from seeking more allotment, we have identified various options and working on their implementation. I will not be able to reveal now but you will see the result in the next two days,” he said. Mr. Shettar said that while the present allotment was being utilised to manage the existing requirement, the district definitely needed more allocation.
“We have sought more allocation to Dharwad district apart from seeking total allocation of 1,400 MT oxygen to the State. We are working out and hopefully will seen more oxygen availability to the district shortly,” he said.
The 1,500 sqft makeshift hospital built in 14 days will house 66 patients and has been built at a cost of ₹66 lakh released under State Disaster Relief Fund. The soundproof and waterproof structure has a life of 20 years, and six bathrooms and toilets each for men and women have been constructed.
The hospital can be shifted to another space depending on necessity. The district administration has also provided oxygen cylinders and oxygen concentrators to the makeshift hospital and plans to utilise the space as inoculation centre after reduction in COVID cases.
