Covid-19: Indian Air Force fetches oxygen containers from Dubai and Bangkok
The mission of the IAF to provide relief continued with ferrying cryogenic containers within the country and bringing them from abroad.
Indian Air Force (IAF) continued its mission to supply oxygen to regions of the country hit by the shortage of life-giving gas as the second COVID 19 surge kept advancing in more and more states.
On April 27, a C17 aircraft of IAF airlifted four empty containers from Bangkok and landed at Panagarh airbase in West Bengal.
Another C17 aircraft lifted six empty cryogenic oxygen containers from Dubai on April 26 and landed at Panagarh in West Bengal on the same day, said a statement from the Ministry of Defence.
Pune, Jamnagar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Panagarh
Within the country, IAF airlifted one cryogenic oxygen container from Baroda to Ranchi, two containers from Pune to Jamnagar, two containers from Bhopal to Jamnagar, three containers from Jaipur to Jamnagar, three from Indore and Bhopal to Jamnagar, and one cryogenic oxygen container from Hindan to Panagarh on April 21.
To mitigate the critical shortages of oxygen in hospitals that are struggling to provide relief to COVID 19 patients, Indian Railways and the Navy, too, have joined hands in the mission. While there is a shortage of oxygen supply in large parts of the country, that in hospitals of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, and Gujarat reached critical levels.
Bengal on a volcano
Fueled by the political campaigns for the eight-phase assembly elections, West Bengal has witnessed fresh daily infection numbers grow steadily and rapidly to more than 16,000 within a few days. Many experts apprehend that Bengal can be the next hotspot, thanks to the eight-phase elections polling for which will end on April 29.
Navy joins hands
On Sunday (April 25), Indian Navy ships southern naval command at Kochi delivered oxygen to Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands.
The consignment with which INS Sharda left Kochi included 35 oxygen cylinders, rapid antigen detection test (RADT) kits, PPE kits, and other items to fight the pandemic.
Last week as the shortage of oxygen in hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and other parts of the country reached critical levels, the Indian Air Force began helping in transporting oxygen from different parts of the country to the areas hit by shortage.
The death toll rose to 1,97,894 with 2,771 new fatalities.