New Delhi: As the possibility of a third wave of COVID-19 looms, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has said the Delhi government is making preparations for it and that this would include both vaccination and ramping up of facilities.Since the second wave swamped Delhi and hundreds of people died due to non-availability of oxygen and proper treatment, the Delhi high court took up several appeals on the matter and has constantly been issuing directions to the Delhi government and Centre for improving delivery, distribution and infrastructure related to COVID-19 treatment and management.A a drop in new cases may have eased the situation for the time being, but concerns remain about the city’s preparedness for a possible third wave. A major issue that still needs resolution is the reluctance of governments to think ahead of the curve.The Wire takes a look at the various occasions when the high court intervened to get the Centre and Delhi governments to act.HC directed release of Delhi’s quota, asked hospitals to install oxygen plantsOn April 24 when the oxygen shortage was at its peak and Maharaja Agrasen Hospital approached it saying it was falling short of oxygen for its patients, the bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli asked the Centre and Delhi government to coordinate efforts to provide more oxygen to Delhi.During a special hearing, it also told the Delhi government to “make out all efforts for the procurement of cryogenic tankers from whatever source they can be made available and look for all possible avenues.” The court also directed all suppliers and re-fillers of oxygen to provide the Delhi government with complete details of oxygen supplies to various hospitals in order to maintain transparency.The HC also questioned why Delhi only received 380 out of the 480 metric tonnes (MT) of oxygen it was assured. Subsequently, on May 1, it directed the Centre to supply 490 NT to Delhi and warned it of contempt action in the matter saying, “water has gone above the head”.Also read: Delhi HC Says Absence of Medical Resources Forced COVID Patients To Fend for ThemselvesHospitals told to install oxygen plantsThe bench also pulled up hospitals for not installing oxygen plants due to commercial considerations as they required a large capital expenditure. “Oxygen plants are essential. It is irresponsible not to have them,” it said.The court said all hospitals with more than 100 beds should install pressure swing absorption (PSA) oxygen plants with a capacity of at least twice their requirement of medical oxygen. It has asked for a status report on May 27.Incidentally, a Right to Information application filed by a Madhya Pradesh-based activist, Vivek Pandey, had recently revealed that while the Delhi government had purchased 4,500 oxygen cylinders and tanks over the last year, it did not install enough plants or engage adequate number of oxygen tankers on time to supply hospitals with oxygen.Also read: Oxygen Crisis: HC Asks Centre, Delhi To Treat PIL as Representation To Compensate Kin of Deceased‘Delhi government did not take enough steps to create oxygen buffer’On May 5, the high court bench also observed that it appeared the Delhi government did not take enough steps for creation of a buffer of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) and for streamlining its distribution. The court said as per the Supreme Court, it was the obligation of both the Centre and Delhi government to do so.The bench made the observation after a lawyer, Aditya N. Prasad, who was present in the hearing said large static cryogenic tanks for storing LMO are available and can be installed in the city to create a buffer of oxygen. He said smaller tankers can pick up oxygen from the larger tanks and distribute it in the city and that these tanks can also be installed with the help of the Army.Prasad also said that the Delhi government should also proactively carry out research like him to procure the necessary equipment and create the infrastructure required for generation, transportation and storage of oxygen. The bench then asked the Delhi government to explore all the possibilities for creating such facilities for oxygen availability.By May 6, the situation improved as Delhi received 555 MT of oxygen as against the demand for 976 MT. Thereafter, as the wave began peaking, the demand for oxygen also decreased.Also read: COVID-19: Delhi HC Asks Hospitals to Install Oxygen Plants After Bitter Shortage Experience‘Things moving smoothly’ but concerns remainOn May 20, senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, who was appointed amicus curiae in the Delhi COVID-19 case, told the court that “things are moving smoothly” on oxygen supply front.The situation on the oxygen front has eased due to a variety of reasons. These included a dip in the demand due to a fall in new cases and patients recovering – which contributed to a reduction in demands for oxygen cylinders in homes and hospitals as well. From a high of 28,395 on April 23, the number of new cases per day dropped to 1,550 last Sunday. Simultaneously, the positivity rate also came down from a peak of 36.24% on April 23 to around 2.5%.DRDO also installed five medical oxygen plants in Delhi and Haryana, each with a capacity to generate 1,000 litres of oxygen per minute. The availability of more cryogenic oxygen tankers and arrival of oxygen through special trains and tankers also improved the supply situation.Kejriwal, while speaking about the preparations for the third wave, also announced on Sunday that Delhi has imported 6,000 oxygen cylinders which could be used to set up 3,000 oxygenated beds. He said these oxygen cylinders were donated by HCL and Give India to the Delhi government and were procured from China.
