JOIN USSterlite Copper dispatches 5 tonnes of oxygen from Thoothukudi plant
Two weeks after the Supreme Court order, Vedanta on Thursday dispatched 4.8 tonnes of liquid oxygen for Covid-19 patients from its oxygen plants inside the Sterlite Copper factory in Thoothukudi. The first tanker with medical-grade oxygen left the premises at 7.10 am to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, around 50 km from Thoothukudi.
“We have released around 5 tonnes of liquid oxygen produced at Sterlite factory here today. The first consignment has been sent to Tirunelveli with adequate police protection. The plant will produce 5 tonnes every day for a few days after which the quantity will be increased,” Thoothukudi district collector K Senthil Raj said.
Resumption of oxygen production at Sterlite Copper will come as a good news to hospitals in the southern districts which are facing shortage of oxygen to be given to Covid-19 patients. Vedanta was allowed access to the plant, which was shut down in 2018, last week after which the process to produce oxygen began.
Vedanta-owned Sterlite Copper had told the Supreme Court that it has the capacity to produce 1,000 tonnes of oxygen a day. The Tamil Nadu government convened an all-party meeting in which it was decided to allow Sterlite Copper to reopen its plant and produce oxygen for four months.
The company said it will be dispatching two oxygen tankers on a daily basis to begin with, and gradually scale this up as its expands production.
“The oxygen supplied is of 98.6 % purity and has received the necessary medical-grade certifications. We are now working with experts to resolve the logistics involved in transporting the oxygen produced in our facility to required parts of India, and are coordinating with the authorized nodal agencies in this regard,” the company said in a statement.
Sterlite Copper's oxygen plant was reactivated at the earliest through the collaborative efforts of our suppliers and partners, the company's CEO Pankaj Kumar said.
Sterlite Copper was closed down by the Tamil Nadu government in 2018 following months of protests by locals and activists which was overturned by the National Green Tribunal the same year. The state government approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the NGT order.
The apex court stayed the order of the NGT and allowed Sterlite Copper to approach the Madras High Court, which upheld the government order. The case is now in the Supreme Court with Sterlite Copper challenging the Madras High Court verdict. The company's plea to access the plant for maintenance purposes has not been entertained by the court so far.'