Given the acute shortage of oxygen cylinders in the state and with the prices of the available ones shooting up to ₹30,000 in the black market, it is simply astounding that in UP’s Hamirpur district, refilling of oxygen cylinders is being carried out at just ₹1.
A businessman hailing from the district, Rohit Agarwal, has undertaken this noble initiative for the aid of coronavirus victims and as yet, he has refilled over 1,500 oxygen cylinders at the cost of only a rupee. Agarwal is the owner of Rimjhim Ispat Factory, located in Sumerpur Industrial Area and currently, he has replaced his production work here with this oxygen refilling facility.
Refilling approx. 1500 oxygen cylinders per day
As per the claims of Agarwal, the provisional oxygen plant has been refilling around 1500 cylinders every day and there are constant efforts in progress, to take up the numbers to 2,000.
“I request all the corporates and other such businesses to come forward and lend a helping hand during such times of need. Working together can solve a lot of problems at hand. Also, would request everyone to not stock up on oxygen cylinders and other such necessities because in this way, someone else losses a fighting chance”, Agarwal was quoted saying.
Last day for commoners to benefit from this exclusive facility
Any family member of a COVID-19 victim under home isolation, can get the oxygen cylinders refilled after submitting the patient’s RT-PCR report, a certificate from their consulting doctor along with their Aadhaar card. However, today is the last day for commoners to avail themselves of this exclusive facility. But it is to be noted that the hospitals in the nearby cities can continue benefitting from this service, till the pandemic doesn’t recede, according to the plant owner.
As of now, people and COVID-dedicated hospitals from Jhansi, Banda, Lalitpur, Kanpur, Orai and several other districts, including state capital Lucknow, are now making a beeline at Agarwal’s makeshift oxygen bottling plant to get a refill.
