Oxygen plant at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima on verge of completion

Our Correspondent
Kohima, May 4 (EMN): The installation of an oxygen generation plant at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK) is expected to be completed by Tuesday, May 6, an official working at the site told Eastern Mirror on Tuesday.

The official added that the work was in ‘good progress’.

The machine at NHAK will have a capacity of 300 LPM (litre per minute), which according to technician was equivalent to ‘approximately 61 jumbo cylinders’.

When this newspaper visited the site on Tuesday, a technician informed that electric wirings were being fitted and ‘other major works’ had been completed except for air combustor that was remaining to be installed.

He informed that once the equipment was fully installed, it would send the samples for tests. The tests would take about 10-15 days for approval and once it was confirmed, it would be ready for use.

The oxygen generation plant at Kohima is one among the three sanctioned under the PM Cares Fund for Nagaland, out of 13 for the Northeastern states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the installation of 551 oxygen plants in the country, after many states reported to be facing shortage of oxygen being hit by the second wave of the Covid-19.

Earlier, the then Principal Director of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Kevichusa Medikhru had informed Eastern Mirror the 11 oxygen plants would be installed in the district hospitals of the state, wherein, equipment for three plants had arrived in the state on April 30 and installation was underway.

The remaining eight oxygen plants- six from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and two from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are in the pipeline.

The department of Health and Family Welfare during its last press conference (held on April 28) had maintained that a request was being made to the agencies to dispatch the equipment to the state before May 15.