After Reliance industries led by Mukesh Ambani provided oxygen for free to Maharashtra, now several Indian business houses have come forward to divert oxygen for their plants for medical use. On Sunday, Tata Steel announced that they are providing oxygen for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. Before Tata Steel other steel companies like Jindal Steel, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel and SAIL had also announced that they are supplying oxygen for medical use.
Tata Steels to supply 200-300 tons of Liquid Medical Oxygen daily
Tata Steels took to Twitter on Sunday to announce that responding to the National urgency, the company is supplying 200-300 tons of Liquid Medical Oxygen daily to various State governments & hospitals.
Medical oxygen is critical to the treatment of #COVID19 patients. Responding to the National urgency, we’re supplying 200-300 tons of Liquid Medical Oxygen daily to various State governments & hospitals. We are in this fight together & will surely win it! @PMOIndia @TataCompanies
— Tata Steel (@TataSteelLtd) April 18, 2021
Commenting on the aid provided by Tata Steel, a company spokesperson assured, “Tata Steel’s response has been proactive to the increased demand for liquid medical oxygen and the company has been supplying as per the requirement given by various state governments.”
Jindal Steel’s commitment
In the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel, from its Dolvi plant in Maharashtra is supplying 185 tonne of oxygen daily to the state government.
The company, through a tweet informed, “Covid-19 has started spreading again and we need oxygen for saving lives. Oxygen is the raw material in steel plants and at this crucial time, we have committed to the government to prioritize saving lives over steel making.”
In another tweet, Jindal Steel & Power informed about its efforts to supply 50-100 MT of oxygen to hospitals in Chattisgarh and Orrisa.
𝐉𝐒𝐏𝐋 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞-𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬… pic.twitter.com/C0JapJZcLr
— JINDAL STEEL & POWER (@JSPLCorporate) April 16, 2021
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel supplying 200 MT liquid oxygen daily
On 17th April, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India announced that the company is supplying 200 MT of liquid oxygen to medical facilities in Gujarat. In a statement issued by CEO Dilip Oomen and tweeted by the company, they informed that the company is supplying oxygen from their oxygen plant in Hazira, which is being operated in partnership with INOX Air Products.
“It is in line with our social commitment to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the authorities and safeguard communities during these trying times. Given the unprecedented challenges triggered by the COVID-19 surge, ensuring the health & wellbeing of our fellow citizens comes first for us and there is nothing more important than saving lives”, the statement issued by the CEO said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, steel plants have supplied over 130,000 tonnes of medical oxygen, informed the steel ministry.
SAIL has supplied over 33,300 Tonnes of oxygen
On Saturday, public sector unit Steel Authority of India Limited announced that they have already supplied more than 33,300 Tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The organisation informed that oxygen of 99.7% purity is being supplied from its plants at Bokaro in Jharkhand, Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, Rourkela in Odisha, Durgapur and Burnpur in West Bengal.
Reliance sends aid to Maharashtra
Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd., which operates the world’s biggest refining complex in Gujarat, had informed that the refinery has started supplying oxygen from Jamnagar to Maharashtra at no cost due to acute shortage faced by the state.
An official who asked not to be identified due to the company’s internal policy said that Reliance is diverting some oxygen streams meant for its petroleum coke gasification units after making it suitable for medical use.
Applauding the efforts of the industry, the Ministry of Steel informed via its Twitter handle, “About 28 oxygen plants located in the steel plants of both public and private sectors are supplying about 1,500 tonnes of medical oxygen daily. A stock of 30,000 tonnes including the safety stock, is being made available for medical use.”
Medical oxygen is vital for saving the lives of patients suffering from various critical ailments who are put on ventilators and other life-saving medical equipment, and it has become one of the most important requirements for saving the lives of critical COVID-19 patients who are hospitalised. Therefore, as the demand for oxygen surges due to the increasing number of COVID-19 patients, ensuring an adequate supply of oxygen has become a top priority today.
With the dedicated producers of medial oxygen already working at their highest capacity, these contributions from other industries, who are diverting oxygen for their industrial use to medical use, will no doubt play a vital role in bridging some of the demand-supply gap.
