Will hang anyone obstructing oxygen supply, says Delhi High Court

India is currently in the midst of a medical oxygen crisis

The Delhi High Court on Saturday sought to know from the Centre about its preparedness to face the expected peak of the Covid-19 second wave in mid-May, as it described the mounting cases as a 'Tsunami'.

Following the death of patients in Delhi hospitals due to lack of oxygen, the court also warned it will "hang" any person who tried to obstruct supplies to hospitals here.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli also pulled up the Delhi government for failing to arrange Cryogenic Tanks for transporting the liquid oxygen from plants at Rourkela and Kalinganagar.

The court directed the Arvind Kejriwal government to act in coordination with the sub-group formed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), in case the Cryogenic Tanks were in short supply and "make all-out efforts for it from whatever source they can be made available, and look for all possible avenues".

"We make it clear that the efforts that the Delhi government has to make in this regard cannot be trivialised, and they should not leave it entirely to the central government to act in this regard," the bench said.

Also Read | Covid-19: Hospitals in Delhi gasp for oxygen amid staggered supply

The court also directed all oxygen suppliers to provide complete details with the Delhi government to ensure re-filling.

In a special hearing on a plea by Maharaja Agrasen Hospital Charitable Trust on lack of medical oxygen, the court referred to a study by a team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, to point out the peak of the wave would come in mid-May.

“We are calling it a wave, it is actually a Tsunami,” the court said, and asked the Centre about the preparedness in terms of infrastructure, hospitals, medical staff, medicines, vaccines and oxygen as on date for the peak.

It asked the Centre and the Delhi government to submit a report by April 26, the next date of hearing, with regard to the national capital on the augmentation of the medical infrastructure -- like beds, oxygen, ventilators, medical staff and medicines -- to deal with the expected peak of the Covid pandemic.