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Dimapur, April 30 (EMN): The Indian Air Force (IAF) special IL-76MD carrying equipment for three pressure swing adsorption (PSA) medical oxygen generation plants to be installed in Nagaland state landed at Dimapur Airport on Friday.
It came two days after Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio wrote a letter to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, requesting him to facilitate airlifting of equipment weighing about 13000 kilogram required to install three oxygen generation plants at Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung district hospitals. Citing Covid-19 cases were quickly rising in the state, he said it would take 10 days to transport the equipment from New Delhi to Nagaland by road.
Following successful airlifting of the much-needed equipment to the state, Rio took to Twitter to thank the Defence Minister for the doing the needful, which will enable effective management of Covid cases.
Nagaland Health Minister, S Pangnyu Phom also thanked the IAF and updated that the equipment will be shifted to Naga Hospital Authority Kohima, District Hospital Dimapur, and District Hospital Mokokchung for installation on a war footing.
An update from DIPR stated that the special IAF flight from Chandigarh loaded the consignment from Airforce station Palam Technical area Tarmac before landing at Dimapur Airport at 3.45 pm on Friday. It added that the consignment has been transported to the designated locations at Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung to be installed at the earliest.
An official from the medical department informed this newspaper that installation of the oxygen plants may take around two weeks if everything goes as planned. The source added that after completion of installation, sample would be sent to Delhi for clearance, after which it will become functional.
‘The Indian Airforce has done the Herculean task so far of carrying out 12 special missions comprising C17 Globemaster, C130 Hercules IL 76, AN 32 and Dornier aircrafts related to Covid-19 equipment carrying almost 80 tons in aid of state government civil administration; last year, equipment for BSL-lab was also airlifted for the State from Mumbai,’ updated DPRO Dimapur.
“The state government thank all stakeholders for their co-ordinated effort to make it a success which includes project office (IAF) Nagaland based in Dimapur, HQ EAC Shillong, Air Hq Vayu Bhavan, MoD, state Nodal officers and DRC N Delhi,” it added.
It may be mentioned that the three oxygen generation plants in Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung are being taken up under the PM Cares Fund. The principal director of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Kevichusa Medikhru, had told this newspaper earlier that the state government is also in the process of installing oxygen plants in the rest of the districts- six to be set up by the United Nations Children's Fund and two by the United Nations Development Programme. Regarding the remaining eight oxygen plants, an official from the medical department said that the government is in the process of bringing the equipment to the state and expressed hope that it will be done by May.
