Three Oxygen generation plants installed by NHPC, India’s premier hydropower company were inaugurated today at District Civil Hospital (B K Hospital), Faridabad. Haryana, District Hospital, Siddharthnagar, UP and CHC, Dharchula, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand having capacities of 1000 LPM (Litres Per Minute), 570 LPM and 200 LPM respectively.
The Oxygen generation plant at District Hospital, Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh was inaugurated by Shri Jagdambika Pal, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha.
The Oxygen generation plant at B.K. Hospital, Faridabad was inaugurated by Hon’ble MLAs Smt. Seema Trikha and Shri Rajesh Nagar in presence of Shri Jitender Yadav, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Faridabad and senior officers and staff from NHPC and B.K. Hospital. The Hon’ble dignitaries highly appreciated NHPC’s efforts in setting of the plant.
The Oxygen generation plant at CHC, Dharchula, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand was inaugurated by Shri Dhan Singh Dhami, Block Pramukh, Dharchula.
NHPC is providing the Oxygen Generation Plants in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and directions of Ministry of Power, under its scheme of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development (CSR&SD). The plants shall be highly beneficial in fighting the current Covid-19 crisis and also in providing regular oxygen supply to the hospital and catering to the need of surrounding areas. Under its CSR&SD scheme, NHPC will be setting up three more oxygen generation plants in UT of Ladakh.
An oxygen generation facility was inaugurated by Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) Lieutenant General Ajai Singh at Indian Naval Hospital,INHS Dhanvantari in Port Blairon July 19, 2021. The plant has been installed to augment the medical and support facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands amidst the COVID-19 situation. The setting-up of the plant was taken up by the Andaman and Nicobar Command through M/s ITD Cementation India Limited, which is undertaking a major marine infrastructure project in the Command.
The firm took up this venture as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. Despite COVID-19 restrictions, a new oxygen generation plant was procured from Chennai and was installed at INHS Dhanvantri in a short span.The facility will be only captive/in-house facility within the hospital for generation of medical grade oxygen. It would ensure continued supply of medical oxygen to specified beds, thus providing huge support in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and significantly enhancing self-sufficiency.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary(Health),Andaman &Nicobar administration Shri Dr V Chandavelou; Director (Health), Andaman and Nicobar Islands Dr Omkar Singh; Project Head, M/s ITD Cementation India Limited Shri Anjan Halder and senior officers of ANC were present on the occasion.
SJVN Ltd, a joint venture of Ministry of Power and Government of Himachal Pradesh, is installing 4 Oxygen Plants in the districts of Shimla (Rampur), Kinnaur, Lahaul Spiti & Hamirpur of Himachal Pradesh at a cost of around Rs. 4.5 Crore. SJVN has provided Cold Chain Equipments costing around Rs. 1 Crore to state government in support of its efforts to vaccinate the entire population of the state.
SJVN has recently provided 50 semi fowler Beds to IGMC in addition to this financial support of more than Rs. 2 Crore, has been extended to procure ventilators, oximeters, other medical equipment, Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs), masks, sanitizers & gloves in various hospitals of Government of Himachal Pradesh.
For boosting the healthcare infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh SJVN is also supporting NGOs working in fight against Covid-19 to the tune of Rs. 1 Crore. In all these activities an amount of around Rs. 7.5 Crore has been contributed in combating the pandemic during last four months.
In addition to this SJVN has also provided ventilators, oxygen concentrators, oximeters and other medical equipment to Hospitals in Bihar, Uttarakhand and other states where it has presence.
The employees of SJVN have already contributed one day salary amounting to Rs. 45 Lakh to CM Relief Fund/H.P.Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund to combat the Corona challenge.
To speed up the process of vaccination against Covid-19, SJVN has tied up with Fortis Hospital for vaccinating its employees, persons working in through contractors and local people residing in the vicinity of Projects/offices.
SJVN has always been in forefront in supporting the society and the government for tackling various issues which affect the nation and fellow countrymen. SJVN is also liberally extending support for distribution of food and other essential items to the needy and has contributed Rs. 25 Crore towards PM CARES Fund.
The Medical Oxygen Plant (MOP) technology, developed by DRDO for On‐Board Oxygen Generation for LCA, Tejas by DEBEL, DRDO will now help in fighting the current crisis of oxygen for COVID-19 patients. The oxygen plant is designed for a capacity of 1,000 litres per minute (LPM). The system can cater to 190 patients at a flow rate of 5 LPM and charge 195 cylinders per day. Transfer of Technology has been done to M/s Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Bengaluru and M/s Trident Pneumatics Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore, who will be producing 380 plants for installation across various hospitals in the country. 120 plants of 500 LPM capacity will be produced by industries working with Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, belonging to CSIR.
Oxygen is a very important clinical gas in health care centres and hospitals for treatment of COVID‐19 Patients. Medical Oxygen Plant (MOP) technology is capable of generating oxygen with 93±3% concentration which can be directly supplied to hospital beds or can be used to fill medical oxygen cylinders. It utilizes Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technique and Molecular Sieve (Zeolite) technology to generate oxygen directly from atmospheric air.
The MOP technology will be useful to provide oxygen supply during Corona Pandemic in hospitals in urban and rural areas. Hospitals will be able to generate on site medical oxygen, in a cost-effective manner with this oxygen plant rather than depending upon sourcing it from other places.
The installation of this plant helps in avoiding hospital dependency on scarce oxygen cylinders especially at high altitude and inaccessible remote areas. MOP has already been installed at some of the Army sites in North East and Leh-Ladakh region. The plant complies with International Standards like ISO 1008, European, US and Indian Pharmacopeia. Site preparation for 5 plants to be installed in Delhi/NCR region has already been initiated.
The DRDO has initiated fabrication of 380 numbers of Medical Oxygen Plants with release of Supply Orders for 332 numbers on M/s Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Bengaluru and 48 numbers on M/s Trident Pneumatics Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore with a target of producing 125 plants per month under PM CARES Fund. With this it is expected that 500 Medical Oxygen Plants will be installed within three months.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has appreciated DRDO for using the MOP technology to generate much needed oxygen for COVID-19 patients which will help in overcoming the present crisis. Secretary Department of Defence R&D & Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy has assured the support of DRDO for use of the technology by hospitals and other health agencies.
Indian Railway is running Oxygen Express in response to its fight against Covid-19.
First Oxygen Express with Liquid Medical Oxygen(LMO) tankers is going to start its journey for Mumbai from Visakhapatnam tonight. Tankers filled with LMO at Visakhapatnam are being transported through Ro-Ro service of Indian Railways.
Another Oxygen Express started its journey from Lucknow to Bokaro via Varanasi to fulfil the requirements of Medical Oxygen in Uttar Pradesh. For the movement of the train, a green corridor was created between Lucknow to Varanasi. The distance of 270 Km was covered by the train in 4 hours 20 minutes with an average speed of 62.35 kmph.
Transportation of Oxygen through Trains is faster over long distances than road transport. Trains can run 24 hours in a day but a truck drivers need to take halts etc.
It may please be noted that to facilitate loading/unloading of tankers in/from flat wagons, a ramp is required. Also, due to restrictions of height of Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Over Head Equipment (OHE) at certain locations, out of the various specifications of road tankers, the model of road tanker T 1618 with height of 3320 mm was found feasible to be placed on flat wagons (DBKM) with height of 1290 mm.
Railways transported essential commodities and kept the supply chain intact even during the lockdown last year and continue to serve the Nation in times of emergencies.
