Tamil Nadu govt urges industries to produce medical oxygen under CSR scheme

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday

made an appeal to various industries in the state to produce medical oxygen under the CSR scheme, following a surge in COVID-19 infections in the state.

Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu said the government has requested JSW, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), Tamil Nadu Newsprintand Papers Ltd (TNPL) and other entities to expedite measures towards producing medical oxygen in view of an increase in demand.

Tamil Nadu on Sunday recorded an all time high of 28,897 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the caseload to 13,80,259 while 236 deaths in the last 24 hours took the toll to 15,648.

Thennarasu said the state government proposed to set up a facility to accommodate 300 beds equipped with oxygen support, with the help of CPCL.

"We have also asked companies like Hyundai Motor India, NLC India Ltd to take steps to produce medical oxygen," he added.

To a query, he said the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was planning to set up four oxygen plants in Tamil Nadu while NLC India was mulling establishing three.

Earlier, Chief Minister M K Stalin interacted with industry leaders at a meeting and explained about the measures taken by his government to control the virus spread.

He sought their cooperation for the two-week full lockdown, an official release said.

After listening to the views and demands put forth by the associations, Stalin said his government would make suitable announcements on Monday.