UP sugar mills to install 40 oxygen plants in community health centres
19 May 2021, New Delhi: Sugar mills and distilleries in Uttar Pradesh have installed 40 oxygen plants in government hospitals across the State to meet demand for medical oxygen.
Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) took up this initiative to approach various sugar mills in the State upon a call given by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. These plants, for which orders have already been placed, will be set up and become operational by next month, a UPSMA official told BusinessLine.
These plants, each capable of producing 20 cubic metres of oxygen per hour, will support 100 patients at a time, including some on ventilators. They will be set up at Community Health Centres located in rural centres with the help extended by departments of cane development and sugar industry as well as excise, he said.
Each of these plants is expected to cost around ₹40-45 lakh.
They are being imported. The suppliers have already been given the letters of intent and part payment has been made to expedite the installation.
The UPSMA official is confident that some plants could be operational as early as the first week of June as some plants are being airlifted for early installation.
‘No downtime’
The uniqueness of these plants is that once they become operational they can work continuously for a long time without any downtime. In addition, the UPSMA official said that the authorities would lay pipeline required to carry oxygen to the health facilities.
DCM Shriram, which has four sugar mills in the State, said it is setting up an oxygen plant at Rohania Community Health Centre Rae Bareilly district as part of this initiative.
In addition, the New Delhi-based conglomerate will build another oxygen plant of 10 cubic metres per hour capacity at District Hospital in Hardoi on its own, a spokesperson for DCM Shriram told BusinessLine.
Besides, the firm would also be procuring oxygen concentrators and other paraphernalia for four Community Health Centres in Hardoi and Lakhimpur Kheri districts in the State, the spokesperson said.
