First Oxygen Plant Inaugurated in Tumkur, Karnataka

By Savvy Soumya Misra
27 Jul, 2021

Former Dy CM G Parameshwara Inaugurates Oxygen Plant, Set Up by Oxfam India, at the Koratagere Govt Hospital in Tumkur

26 July, 2021: Tumkur MLA, Dalit Leader and former deputy chief minister of Karnataka, G Parameshwara inaugurated the Oxygen plant, set up by Oxfam India, at the Koratagere Govt Hospital at Tumkur on 26 July, 2021. The inauguration was attended by Deputy Commissioner of Tumkur, Patil Yalagouda Shivanagouda, and Oxfam India’s Director Pankaj Anand.

The 300 LPM plant, set up under Oxfam India’s COVID-19 response ‘Mission Sanjeevani’, at the 80-bed government hospital will cater to people from 46 surrounding villages.

In Karnataka, since April 2021, we provided ration kits and hygiene kits to 300 families, marginalised and rendered even more vulnerable due to the pandemic and the lockdown. Medical equipment such as Oxygen cylinder, BiPAP machines, and Oxygen concentrators, along with beds and PPE Kits have been delivered to 3 Govt Hospitals, 1 Charitable Hospital and 5 Primary Health Centres.

In the coming months in Karnataka, we will be delivering medical equipment to 9 hospitals and 40 PHCs. Besides providing food and hygiene kit to 850 families, we will also work with 7000 ASHA workers across the state and provide them with medical kits for a larger community outreach to ensure Covid appropriate behaviour and also tackle the issue of vaccine hesitancy.

The second wave of COVID-19 witnessed a massive shortage of Oxygen due to which many people lost their lives. Through ‘Mission Sanjeevani’ we are strengthening the public healthcare systems and the Oxygen plant is a step towards preparing for an impending third wave. The Tumkur Oxygen plant is the first of the seven plants that we will be setting up.

Oxfam India has been on the ground since March 2020 in 16 states. Through our COVID-19 response we have given Rs 2.96 Crore as direct cash transfer to 9481 vulnerable households. We have reached 4,56,850 people with one month’s supply of dry ration. Through ‘Mission Sanjeevani’ (since April this year) we have provided critical lifesaving equipment and diagnostic equipment support such as oxygen cylinders (over 400), concentrators (over 100), digital thermometers (almost 1700), oximeters (over 900) along with 18000 COVID testing kits, over 75,500 Community Safety kits and almost 15,000 PPE kits for healthcare and frontline workers.

For Oxfam India, the primary focus in the second wave is health. Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar said: “We are reaching out to public healthcare institutions, district administrations and COVID Care Centres with medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, patient monitoring systems, oximeters, oxygen nasal masks, and thermometers along with PPE kits and safety kits for frontline health workers.”

About Oxfam India

Oxfam India is a movement of people working to end discrimination and create a free and just society. We work to ensure that Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims, and women and girls have safe violence-free lives with freedom to speak their mind, equal opportunities to realize their rights, and a discrimination-free future.

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