AHMEDABAD: At its peak, Ahmedabad city had 9,971 Covid patients under hospitalization on May 3.
On that day, the demand for oxygen shot up to 280 metric tons (MT) against average requirement of 40-50 MT reported during post-Diwali surge.
With Ahmedabad city leading the daily tally in terms of active cases and daily new cases, the city is bracing for three times higher demand for oxygen during the third wave.
Sources at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said that in other countries, the third surge reported about 2.5 to 3 times higher oxygen demand compared to the second wave.
To tackle this, the city is creating a capacity to generate about 900 MT of oxygen.
“Plans are afoot to meet this requirement.
On one hand, we are creating 33 MT liquid refilling stations.
On the other, about 250 PSA plants are being installed under various schemes.
At every AMC-run hospital like SVP Hospital, LG Hospital, and Shardaben Hospital, PSA plants will have the capacity to generate 1,000 litres of oxygen every minute,” said a senior official.
AMC recently carried out a meeting with office-bearers of Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNA) to chalk out plans for third wave.
Sources close to the development said that the overall estimates needed for preparation were given by AHNA officials.
AHNA has also increased capacity of its oxygen bank — one of the first such initiatives in India — to about 100 cylinders.
“The central repository will help all private hospitals to get oxygen in any contingency scenario,” said a senior AHNA official.