Karnal Oxygen plant up and running, thanks to prof

Parveen Arora
Tribune News Service
Karnal, May 4

Sonepat-based electronics professor Joginder Singh has made an oxygen generation plant in the Civil Hospital here functional in just two days free of cost, for the company that was assigned the project could not send their employees to the city because of Covid.

The plant was among six in the state announced under the PM CARES Fund. A Delhi-based company was assigned the Karnal project.

Can generate 2.88 liters daily

The oxygen generation plant in the Karnal Civil Hospital plant has a capacity of 200 litres per minute (LMP). Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said, “The new plant will generate 2.88 liters of oxygen daily. It is a pressure swing absorption (PSA) system, which generates oxygen with the help of natural air.”

The equipment was bought in February, but for the absence of workforce, it gathered dust for two months.

Principal Medical Officer (PMO) Dr Piyush Sharma said, “Because of the grave situation first in Mumbai and then in Delhi, employees of the company could not reach Karnal. As a result, the plant could not be started.”

The situation was the same at Sonepat, one of the six places where oxygen generation plants have been sanctioned.

The equipment had been bought, but the company which had been assigned the project could not send the workforce.

“Around 15 days ago, I had lost my relative because of oxygen shortage. His loss was heart-wrenching. It was then I learnt that a sanctioned oxygen plant in Sonepat could not be constructed for the want of workforce. Subsequently, I approached the district administration. After having received the nod, the Sonepat plant was up and running in four days,” Prof Singh told The Tribune.

On learning about his initiative, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during his visit to Sonepat last week had asked Prof Singh to make the remaining five plants at Karnal, Ambala, Faridabad, Hisar, and Panchkula functional.

“It is an honour for me to serve the state in the time of crisis. In Karnal, the authorities and technical staff cooperated and we made the oxygen plant functional in two days,” Prof Singh added. His next stop is Ambala.