India is reeling under the second wave of COVID, with hospitals running out of oxygen and families scrambling for space in cremation grounds amid piling dead bodies.
People in Uttar Pradesh, which is witnessing an increase in caseload of COVID, are struggling to manage oxygen cylinders for COVID patients. The ground situation is grim and far different from what the state government is trying to portray.
Amid this, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asserted that there is no shortage of oxygen in any private or public COVID hospital in Uttar Pradesh.
He said that the state government will conduct an audit of the life-saving gas in collaboration with various institutes.
"There is no shortage of oxygen in any COVID hospital, be it private or government. The problem is black marketing and hoarding, which will be tackled with a heavy hand. We are going to conduct an oxygen audit in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, IIM Lucknow and IIT BHU for proper monitoring of oxygen. The system of live tracking of oxygen demand, supply and distribution will be implemented," the chief minister said.
Adityanath also said that oxygen is not in short supply provided only the needy use it.
While hundreds of people are inundating social media with requests for oxygen cylinders, COVID beds in hospitals and life-saving drugs, Adityanath has directed officials to take action under the National Security Act and the Gangsters Act against ˇ°anti-social elementsˇ± involved in ˇ°black-marketeeringˇ± of medicines.
He has also asked them to "seize the property" of those spreading rumours and trying to "spoil the atmosphere".
A man in Uttar Pradesh was booked by authorities who used Twitter to appeal for an oxygen cylinder for his grandfather.
Shashank Yadav from Amethi had not mentioned if his grandfather had COVID. However, the police booked him for allegedly circulating a rumour with the intent to cause fear or alarm.
According to official data, there are 3,04,199 active cases of COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh.