Rajasthan scrambles to get tankers to transport oxygen
The Hindu
State govt. plans to hire them on rent
With only 1% of the cryogenic tankers in the country at its disposal, Rajasthan is trying hard to get the tankers for transporting liquid medical oxygen from the plants situated at places such as Burnpur, Kalinga Nagar and Jamnagar. The State government has initiated action to get the tankers on rent. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said here on Monday that the oxygen consumption in the State was increasing rapidly because of the rising virus infection. Since the Centre was allocating oxygen under the national plan, the quota for Rajasthan should be increased in view of the rising demand, he said. Among the 2,416 cryogenic tankers available in the country, Rajasthan has only 25 at its disposal. While 23 of them are being actively used, the State needs at least 54 more tankers for bringing liquid oxygen from far-off places.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.