Kerala will not be able to provide oxygen to other states as it is witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, according to PTI.

Vijayan said in his letter to the prime minister that Kerala had been providing 40 metric tonnes of oxygen to Tamil Nadu every day in accordance with directions from the Central Committee on Oxygen Allocation, the Hindustan Times reported. Kerala also sends medical oxygen to Karnataka.

Kerala has more than 4 lakh active cases at present and the number could rise to 6 lakh by May 15, Vijayan said, adding that the state would require 450 metric tonnes of oxygen by May 15 as more patients will need to be hospitalised. “It will be practically impossible to allow oxygen to be taken outside the state considering the present situation,” Vijayan said.

Kerala’s main oxygen-producing unit, located in Palakkad, has a manufacturing capacity of 150 metric tonnes, while other units produced 219 metric tonnes of oxygen daily, Vijayan told Modi, NDTV reported.

He added that since the state was situated far from main steel plants, transferring oxygen in a short amount of time would be difficult. “I request that the entire oxygen produced in the state, ie 219 MT [metric tonnes], may be allocated to the state of Kerala,” Vijayan said, according to the news channel. “This may be supplemented by the allocation from steel plants.”

Vijayan added that Kerala was left with just 86 metric tonnes of buffer stock. He urged the Centre to arrange more cryogenic tankers to ensure adequate supply of oxygen, according to PTI.

Kerala HC asks Centre to consider state’s request for oxygen

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court directed the Centre to consider Kerala’s request for more oxygen in view of the sharp increase in coronavirus cases, Live Law reported. State Attorney KV Sohan had told the court that Kerala was facing a shortage of oxygen even as the Centre had directed it to provide supplies other states.

Sohan added that Kerala had asked the Centre for a buffer stock of 400 metric tonnes. He pointed out that Karnataka was receiving 1,200 metric tonnes of oxygen from the Centre.

India is battling a ferocious second wave of the coronavirus. Hospitals in several cities are struggling with acute shortages of oxygen, drugs and medical equipment. On Tuesday morning, India recorded 3,29,942 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally of infections in the to 2,29,92,517 since the pandemic broke out in the country January 2020. The toll climbed by 3,876 to 2,49,992.

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