On Thursday, April 15, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) appointed six of its officers as coordinators between the civic body and the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for maintaining a seamless supply of oxygen in Mumbai.
This decision comes in the wake of a surge in demand for medical oxygen amid an alarming spike in coronavirus cases in the city and state.
According to a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) release, civic commissioner, Iqbal Singh Chahal informed about the appointments at a virtual meeting with Maharashtra Tourism and Environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, Food and Drugs Commissioner Abhimanyu Kale and others.
The civic body also said up to 2,000 more hospital beds for COVID-19 patients will be added in the next week.
It is said that senior BMC officials who are well aware of the administrative set up in Mumbai and are deputed in posts like superintendent, head clerk and senior engineer will be appointed as the coordinating officials. Overall there are 24 municipal wards in the city, these will be equally bifurcated to each official.
In addition, the officials from BMC will coordinate with all the hospitals and convene the oxygen requirement of these hospitals to the FDA on a daily basis.
In the meeting, Chahal said hospitals in Mumbai are currently being supplied with 235 metric tonnes of oxygen and they have asked the state government to increase the supply in view of its growing number, according to the release.
Meanwhile, FDA commissioner Kale said the Maharashtra government is in touch with other states for the supply of medical-grade oxygen. He said once more stocks are received, oxygen will be provided to Mumbai on a priority basis.
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