The situation due to COVID has been worsened in the last few days, as more than 2 Lakh infections are a new norm. However, what is making things worst is the way political parties are making an issue out of this grave situation.
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, who has getting hammered for his haphazard management of COVID, has sent a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said that medical oxygen requirement in the state is projected to reach 2,000 metric tonnes per day by April-end from the present consumption of 1,200 MT per day.
Citing logistical hurdles in the transportation of liquid medical oxygen from neighboring states, Thackeray had sought permission under the National Disaster Management Act to airlift oxygen from steel plants in eastern and southern parts of the country.
On Saturday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra minority minister Nawab Malik alleged that the chief minister was trying to contact PM Modi over the shortage of oxygen and Remdesivir, but he was told PM Modi is currently on a tour to West Bengal for the ongoing state assembly elections.
As a war of words breaks out between the Maharashtra government and the Centre over the shortage of medical oxygen supply for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients in the state, Union railways minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday slammed Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and said Maharashtra received the highest quantity of oxygen across the country and the central government is in touch with state governments to “assess their needs and help them in best possible manner”.
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks at Friday’s review meeting on medical oxygen where he told that the Centre and states should work with synergy in this crisis, Goyal accused Maharashtra CM Thackeray of playing petty politics.
Maharashtra which is the worst-hit state in the Covid disease pandemic has till now recorded over 3.7 million cases, 59,551 deaths and 3,519,208 recoveries, according to the state health department’s bulletin. On Friday, Maharashtra saw the highest daily surge of 63,729 new cases while 398 succumbed to the infection. The state, apart from a weekend lockdown and night curfew, has been placed under Section 144 from April 14, 8pm to May 1, 7am where no movement of residents is permitted without valid reasons and all essential services have to operate from 7am to 8pm.
