The government said the death certificates made no mention of 'death due to lack of oxygen' in any of the 22,915 patients that died due to the pandemic.
Addressing the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour, Mansukh Mandaviya said the Union government made "all possible efforts" to ensure the availability of oxygen and increased its production following a rise in demand during the second wave of the pandemic.
No one can deny that Delhi grappled with an oxygen crisis in April and May during the second Covid wave and also no one can deny that people died in the capital due to a shortage of oxygen, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said during an online press conference.
Deputy CM of Delhi, Sisodia said he has also written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the oxygen crisis in the national capital during the second wave of coronavirus and urged him to direct the LG to approve the formation of the committee.
The officials said only Punjab has reported four "suspected" deaths due to oxygen shortage.
Manish Sisodia on Tuesday alleged that the state government has not received any letter from the Centre inquiring if any deaths in the national capital occurred due to oxygen shortage.
The Railways started operating Oxygen Express trains on April 24 this year amid the second wave of the Covid pandemic to provide respite to the states requiring medical oxygen.
The IIT Kanpur alumnus said that 10 litre of oxygen has been compressed in a 180 gram bottle. Nearly 200 shots of oxygen can be given to a person from a single bottle which is available for Rs 499.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday slammed the Opposition, including the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for playing politics over the Covid pandemic. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra reiterated the government's stand over death due to oxygen shortage during the second wave stating that the onus was on the states to report such casualties.
The Centre is facing a barrage of criticism after Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Parliament that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states and Union Territories during the second Covid wave.
In an online briefing, Sisodia accused the BJP-led Centre of not allowing the formation of a committee for probing deaths caused due to oxygen shortage during second wave of COVID-19 in Delhi.
On Tuesday, the Centre told the Rajya Sabha that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were “specifically reported” by states and union territories during the second COVID-19 wave that hit the country.
Congress leader K C Venugopal said he will move a privilege notice against Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar as she has "misled and misguided" the House.
The remarks made by Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo puts the Congress in a Catch-22 situation as its leaders have been vocal against the government's admission in the Parliament that 'no deaths due to lack of oxygen specifically reported by states/UTs'.
Giriraj Singh has responded in Italian to Rahul Gandhi over his tweet on the government's remark that no deaths were reported due to oxygen shortage during second wave.
The oxygen plant, worth over Rs 9 crore and imported from Germany, was installed at the hospital a few weeks ago, police said.
PM Narendra Modi has directed officials to set up 1,500 PSA Oxygen plants across the country to mitigate the shortage of medical oxygen supply.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently presiding over a high-level meeting to review augmentation and availability of oxygen across the country. The meeting is being attended by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Ministry officials and top government officials.
Earlier on Thursday, PM Modi had expressed his concern over people flouting the Covid protocols. The Prime Minister instructed his ministers to actively participate in Covid management.
The AIIMS chief has said that the report is still interim and the Oxygen requirement by the hospitals is something that is dynamic.
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