News Analysis India

Tag: covid crisis

  • Oxygen Express trains delivered over 30,000 MT of liquid oxygen across India

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Amid the second wave of COVID-19, Oxygen Express trains have delivered more than 30,000 metric tonnes (MT) of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) to States and Union Territories so far across the country.

    According to an official statement by the Ministry of Railways, so far, Indian Railways has delivered nearly 30,182 MT of LMO in more than 1,734 tankers to various states across the country.

    A total of 421 Oxygen Expresses have completed their journey.

    More than 15,000 MT of liquid medical oxygen has been delivered to the southern states of the country by these special trains.

    Oxygen Expresses delivered more than 3,600, 3,700, and 4900 MT of LMO in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu respectively.

    Till Sunday afternoon, two loaded Oxygen Expresses are on run with more than 177 MT of LMO in 10 tankers.

    Oxygen Express started deliveries of medical oxygen 50 days back on April 24 in Maharashtra with a load of 126 MT.

    “Oxygen relief by Oxygen Expresses reached out to 15 states namely Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, Punjab, Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam,” said the ministry.

    As per official data issued on Sunday, 614 MT of Oxygen has been offloaded in Maharashtra, nearly 3797 MT in Uttar Pradesh, 656 MT in Madhya Pradesh, 5722 MT in Delhi, 2354 MT in Haryana, 98 MT in Rajasthan, 3782 MT in Karnataka, 320 MT in Uttarakhand, 4941 MT in Tamil Nadu, 3664 MT in Andhra Pradesh, 225 MT in Punjab, 513 MT in Kerala, 2972 MT in Telangana, 38 MT in Jharkhand and 480 MT in Assam.

    “In order to ensure that Oxygen relief reaches in the fastest time possible, Railways is creating new standards and unprecedented benchmarks in running of Oxygen Express Freight Trains. The average speed of these critical Freight trains is way above 55 in most cases over long distances. Running on high priority Green Corridor, with the highest sense of urgency, operational teams of various zones are working round the clock in the most challenging circumstances to ensure that Oxygen reaches in fastest possible time frame. Technical stoppages have been reduced to 1 minute for crew changes over different sections,” the statement said. 

  • PM Modi nowhere in sight when needed: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on COVID crisis

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Monday that the government has failed to manage the COVID-19 crisis and the prime minister is nowhere to be seen. He also lauded individuals who are helping out people in this crisis and expressed gratitude to them.

    While GOI has failed not just in managing Covid crisis but also in standing with the people, there are numerous individual stories of strength & altruism everyday.Immense gratitude to these heroes dedicated to serving others and showing the world what India truly stands for.
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2021

    “While GOI has failed not just in managing Covid crisis but also in standing with the people, there are numerous individual stories of strength and altruism every day,” he said on Twitter. “Immense gratitude to these heroes dedicated to serving others and showing the world what India truly stands for,” he also said.

    In another tweet, he took a jibe at the prime minister, drawing a comparison between him and the ventilators provided through PMCARES Fund. “There’s a lot common between PMCares ventilator and the PM himself: – too much false PR, don’t do their respective jobs, nowhere in sight when needed,” he tweeted.

    Some states like Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra have complained that the ventilators provided from PMCARES Fund have not been functioning properly. Gandhi has been critical of the government’s handling of the COVID situation in the country and the shortage of essential medicines and oxygen.

  • INTERVIEW| PM Modi needs to talk about ‘Kaam ki baat’: Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge

    Express News Service
    BENGALURU: Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge speaks about the Central government faltering on the COVID front and why doles are necessary to the poor at this time:

    On March 17, 2021, in a COVID review meeting with Chief Ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned about the second wave in India, when we had only 30,000 new cases per day. Despite this, did the Centre falter on planning?

    Yes, they failed to plan and organise themselves. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and myself have written letters offering suggestions, but instead of taking suggestions, they have criticised us.

    A man whose abilities as a doctor are suspect, replied to Manmohan Singh, someone else replied to me, nobody replied to Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Let us remember the Congress got 11 crore votes, while they got 19 crore votes, and they are not interested in our suggestions. There is no scope for discussion in this government.

    There is a serious vaccine shortage, they announce vaccines for 18-45 age group, but are not able to achieve it, they are unable to provide second dose of vaccine for the 45-60 age category, there is severe shortage of medicines, ICU beds, and thousands are dying.

    Instead of Mann ki Baat, the PM needs to talk about ‘Kaam ki baat’. It is loud and clear that they faltered on planning, and what’s worse, they are too arrogant to listen to anyone, as the replies to our letters indicate.

    The Congress has said people should be given Rs 10,000. Isn’t this a burden on the exchequer?

    Should people die of starvation? Is money more important than people? Should you save money or people? I would say we should give money to the poor and marginalised to tide over this crisis, because many have lost their livelihood and jobs, especially daily wage labourers.

    We have our trained workforce, the government has invested so much to train them as doctors and engineers, what happens if they die because there are no jobs? Isn’t it a loss for the nation? Look at the condition of migrant workers. There has to be some provision to help the poor.

    There has been an uproar over Youth Congress National President BV Srinivas, who was questioned by Delhi Police.

    Srinivas was doing an excellent job, serving people during the COVID crisis. The government will not tolerate that. It is Youth Congress volunteers who are working on the direction of former party president Rahul Gandhi.

    They are trying to stop our volunteers and demoralise them. They want to know who has given the money and resources for oxygen and other help we are providing. Now some donors prefer to remain anonymous, this is an effort to expose them and try to embarrass them.

    There have been complaints that NGOs have been stopped from distributing oxygen concentrators…

    In any crisis, everyone steps in to help. While the government has not done its bit, it doesn’t want others to help either. They are concerned that NGOs should not take the credit for help received by people.

    Your party has said it will chip in with Rs 100 crore?

    Yes, our MLAs will offer this amount from Local Area Development grants. Each MLA is entitled to spend a certain sum of money for development, and they are putting together this amount from those funds.

    At the Working Committee meeting, Sonia Gandhi asked Congressmen to do this. These are difficult days and we need to do our bit to help.

    What would you have done differently if your government was in power?

    Our party has a consultative democratic process. Because we consulted so much, some criticised our government as weak. We inherently believe in participation of all, we are not dictatorial. There was an interesting article recently about what Nehru would have done in this situation.

    Remember we took everyone along. In 1971, because of the war, Indira Gandhi was praised by BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee simply because everyone was consulted and united in tackling problems.

  • How long will Indians bear Centre’s cruelty in this pandemic? asks Rahul Gandhi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked how long will Indians continue to bear the cruelty of the Centre as the basic problems arising out of the COVID-19 crisis are yet to be resolved.

    He also alleged that those who are accountable during the pandemic are hiding somewhere.

    “Sad news is coming again and again. The basic problems have not yet been resolved. How long will our fellow citizens bear the cruelty of the central government in this pandemic? Those who are accountable are hiding somewhere,” the former Congress chief said in a tweet in Hindi.

    In another tweet, he said giving false comfort to the health workers, who have lost their loved ones, is like making fun of them.

    “Giving false comfort of positive thinking is making fun of the health workers and their families who have lost their loved ones and are facing oxygen-hospital-drug shortages. 

    “Putting one’s head in the sand is not positivity, but cheating fellow citizens,” he said.

    Gandhi also lauded the role of nurses on International Nurses Day and expressed his admiration for their altruistic spirit.

    “My wishes to those who are nursing away pain and suffering from this world. We salute your contribution and admire your altruistic spirit. Thank you, Nurses,” he said in yet another tweet.

  • Human cost of allowing virus to continue will cause more tragedy than economic impact: Rahul Gandhi to PM Modi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI:  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the government’s alleged failures have made another devastating national lockdown almost inevitable, and called for providing financial and food support to the most vulnerable.

    In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he suggested that the government should not be concerned about the economic impact of the lockdown as the human cost of the spread of of the virus would have tragic consequences for the people.

    “Your government’s lack of a clear and coherent Covid and vaccination strategy, as well as its hubris in declaring premature victory as the virus was exponentially spreading, has placed India in a highly dangerous position: today the disease is growing explosively.

    “It is currently on the verge of overwhelming all of our systems. GOI’s failures have made another devastating national lockdown almost inevitable,” he told the prime minister.

    ALSO READ: Covid second wave is nearing its peak, says Noted virologist Dr T Jacob John

    India has seen a record number of 4.14 lakh fresh Covid cases and around 4000 deaths in the last 24 hours.

    Gandhi said it is critical that our people are prepared for such an eventuality of a lockdown.

    He has been demanding that the government provides Rs 6000 in the accounts to each poor family to tide over the crisis.

    “To prevent a repeat of the manifold suffering caused by last year’s lockdown, the government must act with compassion and provide critical financial and food support to our most vulnerable people,” he said, adding that it must be also ready with a transportation strategy for those who will require it.

    ALSO READ: India adds record high 4,14,188 COVID-19 cases, 3,915 deaths in last 24 hours

    The former Congress chief said that when the COVID-19 tsunami continues to ravage our country unabated, the people of India must be your foremost priority in such an unprecedented crisis.

    “I urge you to do everything in your power to stop the needless suffering that our people are going through,” he said.

    Gandhi also called for rapidly vaccinating the entire population and dynamically assess the efficacy of all vaccines against all new mutations as they are identified.

    He also called for scientifically tracking the virus and its mutations across the country using genome sequencing as well as its disease patterns.

    Gandhi also urged the government to be transparent and keep the rest of the world informed about our findings.

    “I am aware that you are concerned about the economic impact of a lockdown. Inside and outside India, the human cost of allowing this virus to continue its march unimpeded will result in many more tragic consequences for our people than any purely economic calculations your advisors are suggesting,” he said in his letter to PM.

  • Navy steps up Covid relief measures, nine warships transporting oxygen, medical equipment from abroad

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy has stepped up its Covid relief Operation Samudra Setu II with ships from all three Naval Commands in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Kochi deployed to ship Liquid Medical Oxygen and associated medical equipment from friendly foreign countries in the Persian Gulf and South-East Asia.

    Indian Navy has three Commands – Western, Eastern and Southern. The simultaneous warship movements continue on the Western and Eastern seaboards.

    On the Western seaboard, while Indian Naval Ship (INS) Talwar was entering the port of New Mangalore in Karnataka on Wednesday May 5, during the same time INS Kolkata, deployed in Persian Gulf, was departing Kuwait. 

    INS Talwar ferried two 27-ton liquid oxygen tanks from Bahrain, and INS Kolkata is carrying two 27-ton oxygen tanks, 400 oxygen cylinders and 47 concentrators.

    In addition, four warships are also en route to Qatar and Kuwait to bring back around nine 27-ton oxygen tanks and more than 1500 oxygen cylinders from these countries. On the Eastern Seaboard, Indian Naval Ship Airavat, departed from Singapore on Wednesday with more than 3600 oxygen cylinders, eight 27-ton (216 tons) oxygen tanks, 10000 Rapid Antigen Detection Test Kits and seven concentrators while INS Jalashwa remains deployed in the region, standing by to embark on its mission at short notice.

    (Photo | Indian Navy)

     INS Shardul, the Landing Ship Tank of the Southern Naval Command at Kochi, is also on its way to the Persian Gulf to bring three liquid oxygen-filled cryogenic containers. It may be recalled that INS Jalashwa and INS Shardul had also participated in Operation Samudra Setu last year to repatriate stranded Indian citizens from abroad. The deployment of nine warships as part of the ‘Operation Samudra Setu II’ forms a part of the multiple lines of effort by the Government and the Indian Navy to supplement the oxygen requirement in the country.

  • Foreign Covid aid dispatched to 31 states, says Centre

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  As India reels under the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, nearly 40 countries have stepped up over the past one week to send essential supplies such as oxygen tanks, generators and therapeutic essentials, even as the Centre on Tuesday said that it has started distributing the foreign aid.

    MEA photo shows medical equipment and othersupply coming to India from KuwaitAccording to a Health Ministry statement, the aid has been distributed to 38 institutions across 31 states have received crucial medical equipment and supply sent by other countries. As the cases surged in the country, the MEA alerted its missions abroad regarding the items in demand. Sources said no formal request for made for the items. 

    “All the countries that have come forward to help us remember the help we provide to them during the initial phases of the pandemic. Even the ‘Vaccine Matri’ initiative has contributed to the outpour of help,”  a source said. So far, India has received 24 different categories of items, mainly BiPAP Machines, oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, PSA oxygen plants, pulse oximeters, drugs such as Faviparivir and Remdesivir and PPE kits and N95 masks numbering nearly 40 lakh.

    India is due to get around 4.5 lakh vials of Remdesivir from Egypt, and sources said talks are on with the authorised manufacturers of the drug in Bangladesh to get more vials of the anti-viral drug. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said a special cell has been constituted to coordinate the receipt and allocate the resources among states and the allocation has been done keeping in mind equitable distribution and the load on tertiary health care facilities.

    Initially, states have been covered via the AIIMS and other central institutions where the critical care patients load is high and where the need is highest, the government said. Besides, the central government hospitals, including DRDO facilities in and around Delhi and in the NCR region, have also been supplemented through the aid. The focus has largely been on tertiary health care facilities as they have a higher number of cases with severe symptoms of Covid and are often the only succour to people in the region for quality tertiary care, the ministry underscored.

    The government maintained that as the material from abroad are currently coming in different numbers, specifications and at different times, there is a need to reconcile the distribution logistics with the need to reach the materials as expeditiously as possible to the states.

  • Jaishankar, Blinken discuss crisis in first in-person meet

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in London late on Monday night and discussed the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and the Indo-Pacific region. This was the leaders’ first face-to-face meeting after having spoken over the phone and virtually previously. “We discussed first and foremost the strong support we are getting from the US on dealing with the Covid situation. We are very, very appreciative of that,” Jaishankar said after the meeting.

    Sources said oxygen and related equipment will continue to be a priority between the two countries and that Washington has acted on New Delhi’s request for Remdesivir.  “The leaders discussed how greater Indian vaccine production can address both India’s own needs and the requirement of global public health. India and the US will collaborate bilaterally, in Quad format and through multilateral initiatives for the same,” a source added.

    Blinken said the US remembers well when India came to their assistance in the early days of Covid in a very important and powerful way.  So far, the US has sent five consignments of assistance, including oxygen concentrators and other related supplies, to India to deal with the ongoing Covid crisis. Sources said views were also exchanged on the Indo- Pacific strategic landscape. “The conversation brought out the convergence of interests and the ministers reviewed the progress in practical cooperation in recent months,” a source said.              

    Army’s Delhi base hospital faces oxygen shortageNew Delhi: The situation at the Indian Army’s Base Hospital in Delhi Cantonment turned distressing on Monday with the oxygen supply getting curtailed by the Delhi government. “The requirement of oxygen at the base hospital is 3.4 MT but the Delhi government was allotting only 1 MT till now. But the problem arose when it was reduced further to 0.42 MT from last night,” an Army officer said. The Army had last week converted the base hospital at Delhi Cantonment area into a Covid-19 hospital to provide “extensive” medical assistance.

  • Indian Army’s Base hospital in Delhi faces Oxygen supply shortage

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The situation at the Indian Army’s Base Hospital (Delhi Cantonment) turned distressing on Tuesday after their oxygen supply from the Delhi Government was further curtailed.

    An army officer said, “The requirement of oxygen at Base Hospital is 3.4 MT but the Delhi Government was allotting only 1 MT till now. But the problem arose when it was reduced further to 0.42 MT from last night.”

    Due to soaring Covid numbers among their ranks, the Army had converted the Base Hospital in the Delhi Cantonment area into a Covid-19 hospital last week to provide “extensive” medical assistance.

    Initially, the hospital had 340 Covid-19 beds, of which 250 beds were oxygenated. It later expanded the capacity to 650 beds, of which 450 were oxygenated by April 30. “Currently all the beds are occupied with serving personnel, veterans and their dependents,” said the officer.

    ALSO READ | COVID takes down IPL: Tournament suspended indefinitely after multiple infections in bio-bubble

    But such is the crisis now that the Army needs to expand the number of beds even further thus requiring even more oxygen,  an officer said.

    However, the Indian Army’s Western Command clarified that there is an adequate supply of oxygen in the base hospital.

    The Western Command tweeted, “It is clarified that there is an adequate supply of oxygen in the Base Hospital Delhi Cantonment, Western Command assures all serving persona, veterans and dependents, of our assistance and full support. StaySafe.”

    The Base Hospital comes under the Delhi Area which is part of the Western Command of the Indian Army.

    Talking about the oxygen supply the officer quoted above said that we will make arrangements and will manage the oxygen supply somehow. 

  • Rahul Gandhi shares meaning of word ‘free’, demands no cost vaccination for all citizens

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded free COVID-19 vaccination for all Indians on Thursday and put out a tweet with the dictionary meaning and usage of the word “free” to stress his point.

    Gandhi and his party have been demanding free COVID-19 vaccination for all citizens.

    They have also termed the Centre’s new vaccination policy discriminatory.

    In a tweet on Thursday, Gandhi further stressed his demand.

    “free /fri?/ adjective, adverb — costing nothing, or not needing to be paid for,” he wrote and then went on to illustrate the usage of the word “free” through two examples relevant to his demands, “India must get free COVID vaccine.

    free /friː/adjective, adverbcosting nothing, or not needing to be paid for. e.g.-• India must get free COVID vaccine.• All citizens must receive the inoculation free of charge.Let’s hope they get it this time. #vaccine
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 29, 2021

    All citizens must receive the inoculation free of charge.

    “Let’s hope they get it this time,” he wrote on Twitter with the hashtag #vaccine.

    In another tweet in Hindi, the former Congress chief hit out at the government, saying the one who does not listen to people’s pain and emotions does not have a heart but a stone.

    “One who is not filled with emotions, who is not willing to listen to people’s pain, he has a stone and not a heart, the ‘system’ that the public does not love,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Rs 600 per dose for states, Rs 1200 to private hospitals – Bharat Biotech releases rates for Covaxin

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh demanded the option of on-the-spot registration for all adults at the inoculation centres, saying the online process may end up excluding many.

    “I fail to understand why BOTH options of online pre-registration and on-the-spot registration for walk-ins should not be allowed for vaccination. Online registration should help not hamper. In India’s case, mandatory online registration may end up excluding many,” the former Union minister wrote on Twitter.