Tata Steel and JSPL facing logistics issue in supplying oxygen
Steel manufacturers Tata Steel and JSPL told the media that logistics-related issues have posed a challenge in the transportation of medical oxygen from steel plants to health facilities.
Business conglomerates such as Tata Steel, JSW and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), among others, have aligned themselves to divert oxygen for emergency medical use, as the second wave of Covid-19 has skyrocketed the oxygen demand in the country.
Both the companies said they are making efforts to increase their daily oxygen supply.
State-run RINL also said it is looking to increase the daily supply of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) to states for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Tata Steel said the Indian government has set up a committee that reviews the production, consumption and stocks available at all the steel plants in the country.
The company has allocated the distribution of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) from each steel plant to various states. The steel major said it has been supplying 300 tonne of LMO daily to states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal.
According to the company, although it is ready to increase the supply of oxygen, currently, there is a shortage of containers and trailers for transportation.
JSPL also said logistics remains an issue in the transportation of medical oxygen from steel plants. The company said tankers are unavailable, and there is a need to track the number of tankers in the country so that they can be assigned the task of transporting oxygen.
In addition to the daily supply of oxygen, the company has 500 tonne LMO ready to be supplied. JSPL is supplying up to 100 tonnes of oxygen daily from its facilities at Angul (Odisha) and Raigarh (Chhattisgarh).
RINL said the company, on average, is supplying 100 tonnes of oxygen daily to Andhra Pradesh and adjoining states.
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