This Doctor-Turned IAS Officer's Foresight Made Maharashtra's Tribal District Oxygen Sufficient
Even last year if someone told you that soon thousands of Indians will die of oxygen shortage and many more will be begging for it, that would have been laughed off.
But the second wave of COVID-19 showed us how important medical oxygen is and how unprepared we were to face such a situation.
However, one man knew that in the near future there will be an increase in demand and took steps to address it.
Foresight helped
Last year Nandurbar, a tribal district in Maharashtra, did not have a single liquid oxygen plant or tank.
But after the first wave of the pandemic Nandurbar collector, Dr Rajendra Bharud took the initiative to set up Oxygen plants there.
The first such plant was set up at the district hospital, followed by two more plants in the district, with a combined production capacity of 2,400 litres per minute.
As a doctor by qualification, the IAS officer knew that there will be a second wave of COVID and even districts like Nandurbar which were spared in the first wave could be affected.
¡°In the wake of the pandemic, there were 190 patients in the district. I realised , there was a possibility that cases could once again rise and that we should have an oxygen plant in place. So, we set up a plant with a capacity of 600 litre per minute,¡± he told The Times of India.
And his fears came true this year when Nandurbar reported over 1200 new COVID-19 cases in just one day.
¡°We felt that one oxygen plant was not enough. We then mobilised funds and set up two more plants in the civil hospital. Now, the total capacity will be 1,800 litre per minute. In addition, we will get 600 litre per minute from private oxygen producers. Further, we will add another 600 litre per minute from own resources. In that event, our total capacity will be 3,000 litre per minute,¡± Bharud said.
