Thursday, August 26, 2021

India hands over oxygen plant to Nepal

Indian ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over a 960 LPM Medical Oxygen Plant to minister of State for Health and Population Umesh Shrestha today at a ceremony organised at the Ministry of Health and Population.

The medical oxygen plant has been installed at BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, and is designed to cater to providing 5 Liters Per Minute (LPM) per person amounting to a total capacity of 960 LPM, according to a press note issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

"It has the capacity to serve 200 patients simultaneously," it reads.

Speaking on the occasion, Shrestha said that the oxygen plant is a critical health infrastructure that will reinforce Nepal’s efforts in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the ceremony, ambassador Kwatra highlighted the significance of the deep rooted and multifaceted partnership between India and Nepal and reiterated that this gift symbolised India’s continued commitment to Nepal in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Oxygen is a very important clinical gas in health care centres and hospitals for treatment of Covid-19 patients, as has been experienced during the second wave of the pandemic in both India and Nepal. "With this DEBEL Medical Oxygen Plant that has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), hospitals now have the option of generating medical oxygen on-site, in a highly cost effective manner," the press note reads, adding that India is the fourth country in the world to develop this technology, which utilises Pressure Swing Adsorption technique and molecular sieve technology to generate oxygen directly from atmospheric air. "The installation of the medical oxygen plant would help in avoiding the dependency of hospitals for scarce oxygen cylinders."

"It will help in reducing the logistics of transporting cylinders and also continuous and reliable oxygen supply available round the clock," the press note adds.

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