Rajasthan to procure 50,000 oxygen concentrators from abroad

The Rajasthan government has planned to procure 50,000 oxygen concentrators from abroad to address a shortage of the life-saving gas for COVID patients, state Health Minister Raghu Sharma said on Friday. The minister said the state government has already placed an order for 1,250 oxygen concentrators, 100 of which will reach Jaipur from Russia by the evening.

A committee of three IAS officers is looking after the process and they spoke to manufacturers in India, Russia, China and Dubai, Sharma said in a video message, adding that the task of procuring 50,000 oxygen concentrators will be completed by the month-end.

Sharma said the state requires 615 metric tonnes of medical oxygen but the Centre has allocated only 270 MT to them.


Moreover, there is a problem of its transportation due to long distance and a shortage of tankers, he said, stressing that oxygen concentrators will ease the requirement of the life-saving gas in the state.

Rajasthan till Thursday reported 5,182 deaths and 7,02,568 coronavirus cases.

The state government has imposed a lockdown from May 10 to 24 under which marriage functions, intrastate movement and MGNREGA works have been suspended.