Pandemic fight
It is clear that States have to fend for themselves as far as fighting the pandemic is concerned. The reports in the visual media are disconcerting especially as far as the acute shortage of medical oxygen and hospital beds are concerned. It makes one wonder what sort of development has been achieved by so-called model States. Given that we have a political class that seems more concerned about constantly winning elections than tending to the suffering masses, the situation is not surprising.
G.B. Sivanandam,
Coimbatore
The Prime Minister’s address to the nation made little sense. He only detailed what is already there in the public domain. From what I could gather, he reiterated that State governments should not declare lockdowns as they create immense problems. Given the vaccine shortages, the advice to get oneself vaccinated makes little sense. Perhaps, one has to be thankful that banging utensils and lighting candles were not asked for to honour doctors, who are having a terrible time dealing with the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Anthony Henriques,
Mumbai
The Prime Minister’s appeal on lockdowns is in sharp contrast to his own action last year which brought immense hardship to many in the country. Tuesday’s appeal is perhaps a tacit admission of error. Recently, mass election rallies were allowed to go on. Moreover, a super-spreader, but avoidable, event like the Kumbh Mela was allowed to take place. The Union Government continues to commit mistakes. The country and its people deserve better.
D. Bhutia,
Guwahati, Assam
Winning the battle
Fast development of the Maoist-affected regions is the way ahead to win the battle against the Maoists. Ideological battles cannot be won by hard measures as they will only lead to greater alienation and resentment, and, hence, are counterproductive. The government needs to strike at the root cause of the problem — economic deprivation. There need to be both developmental funds and a deepening of grassroots democracy.
Amit Yadav,
Macchalisahar, Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh
Oxygen supply
I write this as a professional with 50 years of experience in the chemcial industry. The issue of oxygen supply is that of logistics and last kilometre reach. Excluding the extremely large capacities for captive use by steel and certain chemical industries, there is sufficient capacity of the order of 7,000 to 8,000 TPD merchant capacity. In normal times, about 15%-20% of capacity is used for medical supplies. The logistic chain is transporting bulk quantities by cryogenic tankers from liquid oxygen plants, refilling into cylinders near the use centres and delivery to users. The other method is to provide PSA plants at bulk user premises. Standard sizes range from a few m3/hour to about 1,500 m3/hour.
D.M. Mohunta,
Chennai
