The Maharashtra government has requested the Centre to allow transportation of oxygen cylinders by railway to cut the cost and time, state health minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday.
He was speaking to reporters after participating in a video conference with Union health minister Harsh Vardhan.
"The Maharashtra government has requested the Centre to allow transportation of liquid oxygen by railway, which would reduce the cost of transportation. The Centre should issue necessary instructions to the Railways," Tope said as shortage of oxygen is being reported from many places amid an alarming surge in coronavirus cases.
He also said that the Centre has announced that it would provide, across the country, 113 plants that can extract oxygen from the air, and the Maharashtra government is trying to get a maximum number of such plants. The oxygen thus extracted can be used for medicinal purposes after purification, he added.
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