Manish Sisodia accuses Haryana Govt. of blocking oxygen supply to Delhi
NEW DELHI : Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia on Wednesday accused the Haryana government of blocking medical oxygen supply to Delhi. The Haryana government, however, vehemently refuted the allegations, stating that no one in the administration had hampered anything.
He said the Centre decides the quota of oxygen for States and the AAP govt had been demanding that the Centre increase Delhi’s quota of oxygen from 378 metric tones to 700 metric tones. The central government is yet to take a step in this direction, he said.
“We again demand that the Centre increase our oxygen quota to 700 MT in view of the increased consumption. Patients from several States, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, are admitted in city hospitals,” Mr. Sisodia said at a press conference.
He claimed that an official of the Haryana government stopped oxygen supply from a plant in Faridabad. The Delhi government demands that States should get their allotted share of oxygen without others interfering into it, he added.
In a press conference, Sisodia said the AAP government had been demanding that the Centre increase Delhi’s quota of oxygen from 378 metric tonnes to 700 metric tonnes. Notably, several hospitals in Delhi scrambled to save the lives of coronavirus patients amid its shortage for the second consecutive day.
Meanwhile, Reacting to it, Haryana Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan told PTI: “No supply has been stopped to Delhi. This is not true.” Earlier in the day, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij alleged that a tanker carrying medical oxygen for COVID patients in hospitals, which was going from Panipat to Faridabad, was “looted” by the Delhi government and said all oxygen tankers will now move with police escort.
The Central government, which decides the quota of oxygen for states, is yet to take a step in this direction, the deputy chief minister said. Sisodia said, “We again demand that the Centre increase our oxygen quota to 700 MT in view of the increased consumption. Patients from several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, are admitted in city hospitals,” adding that an official of the Haryana government stopped oxygen supply from a plant in Faridabad.
In a statement, the Delhi government said, “It’s indeed unfortunate that states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are curtailing the supply of life-saving oxygen to Delhi.” It said, “Just as the Haryana government, the Uttar Pradesh government has illegally captured the oxygen production plants, depriving Delhi of oxygen.”
(With Agency Inputs ).
