Centre to states: Provide safety to oxygen tankers, deal with them as ambulances

Amid the continued wrestle to produce oxygen to hospitals and allegations of sure states stalling oxygen tankers, the Centre has written to all states to offer safety to those automobiles and to deal with them as ambulances for fast transport.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday additionally held a gathering over oxygen scarcity within the nation and issued instructions for clean provide of the identical based mostly on necessities of assorted states, sources stated.
“An Expert Group is optimizing and rationalising the allocation of oxygen to various States and UTs, keeping in view the active cases and to reduce time for movement of medical oxygen,” an announcement by the Ministry of Home Affairs stated.
Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Friday wrote to all states and UTs, reiterating MHA’s Thursday order the place the Centre directed states to strictly abide by the oxygen provide plan chalked out by a central panel and to not stall provide of oxygen to any state.

In its order, MHA had invoked the Disaster Management Act, making wilful inhibition of provide a punishable offence, and made district magistrates and SPs accountable for clean transport of oxygen tankers.