BCCI discusses investment prospects in N Bengal
The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized the 3rd edition of Prospects for North Bengal – Investments in Sustainability in Siliguri today.
Medical oxygen plants being set up in government health facilities will be functional within 15 August in north Bengal, health officials said today. Altogether, nine Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) medical oxygen generator plants are coming up in the region.
The officer on special duty for public health in north Bengal, Dr Susanta Kumar Roy, visited the proposed sites of the plants at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) and the Siliguri District Hospital (SDH) today.
A liquid medical oxygen storage tank will also be installed at the NBMCH. A 2000-liter per minute (LPM) plant and another 500 LPM plant will be installed at the NBMCH and SDH respectively. PSA plants separate oxygen from compressed air.
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“According to the directives of the state government, all PSA oxygen plants have to be functional within 15 August. Nine PSA oxygen plants will be set up in north Bengal, of which plants in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar have started functioning,” Dr Roy said.
Two oxygen plants are further coming up at the Darjeeling and Kalimpong district hospitals. A severe oxygen shortage claimed hundreds of lives every day during the second wave of Covid-19 in the recent past.
“We did not face any problem with oxygen during the second wave, but we need to move forward in terms of preparations. Since a large number of patients are admitted in the NBMCH, the demand for oxygen has been naturally high,” he said.
Explaining the requirement for oxygen at the NBMCH, the superintendent, Dr Sanjay Mallik, said that when the Covid-19 cases were at its peak during the second wave, the highest 800 ‘D’ type oxygen cylinders (46.7 liters) were required in a single day. NBMCH sources said the plant was coming up in an 18 by 8 meters area.
“It will cater to patients admitted in the medicine wards, surgery at the main operation theatre, critical care unit, recovery ward and the 96-bed high dependency unit of the Covid BlockII,” the sources said.
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