Ten dead as Maharashtra district faces acute oxygen shortage

There are over 7,000 active patients in Vasai, of which 3,000-odd require oxygen facilities

At least ten persons have died in Vasai as the urban township, nearly 60 kms off downtown Mumbai, reels under severe shortage of medical oxygen.

There is also a shortage of Remdesivir injections in the areas under the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) and Vasai tehsil – located in the Palghar district.

The Vasai-Virar township which is located along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway, is facing a severe shortage of oxygen supply over the weekend and the issue compounded over Monday and Tuesday.

There are over 7,000 active patients in Vasai, of which 3,000-odd need oxygen facilities. Over the last two days, at least 10 patients have died in Vasai because of oxygen shortage including seven in the Vinayaka Hospital and Riddhi Vinayak Hospital, both in Nalasopara.

The VVCMC, however, denied that the deaths were related to a lack of oxygen cylinders.

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The worst-affected was the Vinayaka Hospital in Nalasopara, where the maximum deaths were reported. As tension prevailed with relatives questioning authorities, the Tulinj police had to rush to calm down the situation.

VVCMC is controlled by Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA). Incidentally, Vasai constituency is represented by Hitendra Thakur, the founder of BVA, while his son Kshitij Thakur represents the Nalasopara constituency.

The junior Thakur appealed to prime minister Narendra Modi to look into the issue of lack of medical oxygen cylinders.

“I wish to draw the prime minister's attention to a very grave matter. There is an acute shortage of oxygen in the Vasai taluka. Notably, the supply can run for only three hours. There are more than 7,000 active cases in the area and more than 3,000 people require oxygen supply daily. Unfortunately, three lives have already been lost due to no oxygen supply in our area. I request to look into this serious matter and provide ample oxygen supply to the tehsil. This will prevent any more loss of lives,” he said.

He also appealed to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and public health and family welfare minister for help.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said that the Thackeray government is responsible for the deaths.

“My father suddenly developed symptoms…on Sunday, we rushed him to one hospital, however, there was no oxygen available. So we rushed him to another hospital, where we could get oxygen. But there was no Remdesivir injection. We paid Rs 20,000 for two injections. However, he could not survive,” his son said breaking down.

“There is a severe shortage of medical oxygen in Vasai-Virar,” said the local AAP unit.

Some of the patients who died were in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the leader of opposition in Council Pravin Darekar said that the government needs to take cognizance of the incident.

"It is a serious issue," the senior BJP leader said, adding that the government is only focussing on lockdown. "Yes... we need restrictions, but we also send oxygen beds, ICU beds, ventilators, Remdesivir," he added. "This is not good news on Gudi Padwa," he added.

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A Medical Health Department statement said that the Vinayak Hospital, where 7 comorbid patients died on Monday, had procured 139 jumbo cylinders each with 7,000-litres oxygen, and one Dura cylinder or equivalent to 28 jumbo cylinders, the previous day.

The Riddhi Vinayak Hospital, where 3 patients lost their lives, also claimed to have procured a total of 110 jumbo cylinders over Sunday-Monday, and accordingly, both hospitals had sufficient stocks of medical oxygen for all their patients.

Vijayaka Hospital Medical Director Dr Ranjeet Updhyay said that the patients were in a critical condition. "Their lungs were badly affected," he said.