"Will Hang That Man"
The oxygen crisis in India is multi-fold; from the availability and logistics to its security, there have been many hurdles, and more importantly, people have died in the unfolding of this crisis. Many reports of theft and obstruction of transportation of Oxygen have taken place. The Delhi High Court has taken a hard stand on this and warned, any official at the central, state, or local levels of the administration found to obstruct the supply of Oxygen will be hanged. The bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said during hearing of a plea by Maharaja Agrasen Hospital over shortage of oxygen in Delhi hospitals.
20 COVID-19 patients died at Jaipur Golden Hospital due to low stock of oxygen despite the hospital sending out a distress call on the low availability of Oxygen (45 minutes). Six died on Friday night at a private hospital in Punjab's Amritsar on account of shortage of medical oxygen. Two died at Sardar Patel hospital just recently today, reported India Today, the painful and shameful deaths due to shortage of Oxygen are many with no immediate solution at sight
Central Government And Delhi Government At Loggerheads
The Centre had blamed the Aam Aadmi Party governance for the situation and even gone to the extent of terming the Delhi government a 'cry baby'. The central government accused the Delhi Government of not shouldering any responsibility in ensuring Oxygen reaches the hospitals in Delhi, unlike other states who arrange resources to transport the Oxygen.
The Logical Indian requests the central government, state government and other stakeholders to comprehensively chart out a plan to ensure no deaths happen due to shortage of Oxygen anymore. The deaths due to lack of medical Oxygen are painful; the different governments being at loggerheads even as innocent, critically ill people die is utterly shameful. Central Government and State Government should work constructively. State governments go beyond their respective border to help their neighbors. India's best way to pull itself out of the pandemic is by states assisting each other, and the Center and States work together. It is the least we could do to avoid any further tragedies.