Railway minister Piyush Goyal (file photo)
"Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday negated Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's requests for medical oxygen, stating that Maharashtra has received the highest quantity of oxygen in the country and that the centre is in regular touch with the state governments to gauge their needs. Thackeray had written to PM Modi seeking permission to airlift oxygen from steel plants in eastern and southern parts of the country under the National Disaster Management Act as the medical oxygen requirement in the state is expected to reach 2000 metric by April end from the current 1200 MT/day requirement.
"Maharashtra is suffering from an inept and corrupt government and the centre is doing its best for the people. People of Maharashtra are following ''Majha Kutumb, Majhi Javabadari'' dutifully. It is time the Chief Minister also follows his duties in the spirit of ''Majha Rajya, Majhi Javabadari'', the union minister tweeted.
"Saddened to see @OfficeOfUT's gimmicks on oxygen. GoI, with all stakeholders, is ensuring maximum oxygen production in India. We are currently producing 110% of Oxygen generating capacity and diverting all available oxygen from industrial use to medical use," he added in a follow-up tweet. The Union Minister further claimed the PM, in his review, had told that the centre and states should world with synergy in this crisis.
Medical oxygen is used to treat patients with COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. With the rise in the number of coronavirus cases, a shortage of medical oxygen has been reported in different parts of the country.