Amidst a Crisis

     One day you wake up and everything that had been bothering you seems insignificant. Be it any kind of problem, those days that you thought were difficult are replaced by a splash of realization that it doesn't matter. All you want is your loved ones to be happy and in good health. This is the most precious thing one can ask for at this moment. I feel blessed and horrified at the same time. My heart is with those people who lost the most valuable thing in their lives. I can't even imagine where the world is heading with all these going on. 

    Clearly we as a nation have failed our responsibilities as a result we are in such a worse condition. Our government has failed in managing and distributing proper health care to everyone. The mismatch between the demand and supply makes the oxygen crisis more severe and painful. But the question is how come we not predict this before and did not prepare for the worst? Well, in that case our government did have proper data and numbers on production and consumption. According to a report from the Times of India "As per government sources and EG II, India's daily production capacity of medical oxygen is 7,287 MT and there is an availability of a buffer stock of approximately 50,000 MT".

        It is clear from the above data is that we don't have problem in the ratio of demand and supply. But the problem lies in allocation and establishing priorities. There are so many instances that proves we don't emphasis more on recognizing the need and try to map the demand with proper and fast supply. We see chief ministers of various states urging the PMO to allocate more oxygen to their states. Why don't we have a separate body working on tackling every challenge and try to fulfil every state's oxygen needs? However we do have a specific group of nominated members from all states that makes decisions regarding the allocation. The Empowered Group II (EG II) is headed by the secretary in the department for promotions of industry and internal trade. But it has not been properly implemented due to lack of time, and this delay has cost the health care system and overall India badly. 

    We have seen or experienced problems in so many approaches of India's fight against COVID-19. India's strict transportation protocols have been a challenge to reach oxygen and medical support near patients on time. Storage is another concern when it comes to a precious resource like oxygen. Our infrastructure is not advanced enough to store and reach to maximum patients at a time. Though we claim to use copper pipelines to supply oxygen, it is a dream for so many hospitals. Cylinders are our only alternative and sadly many cowards don't even hesitate to take advantage of this situation. While the whole India is struggling to breathe some traitors hoard and sell oxygen cylinders in the black markets at a higher price. 

    The cloud of despair and fear has spread all over. It is difficult to find any positivity and assurance at this point of time but we have made so far and there is light waiting for all of us ahead. We should always be responsible about our duties for ourselves and our surrounding and help each other in this difficult hour. The world needs us be a little compassionate and face this difficult situation with strength. I pray for all of this to get over soon. Take care and stay safe.