The Indian Army may be fully involved in the national effort to fight corona pandemic, but its own Base Hospital in Delhi Cantonment here is facing severe shortage of oxygen. 

This has put the live of more than 450 patients into danger.

Sources said efforts were on through the Defence Ministry to procure more oxygen from the Delhi Government which allocates the gas. They said the quota of the base hospital was reduced leading to the present crisis.

They claimed the Delhi Government reduced the allocation of oxygen to the hospital by almost one third.  While the hospital has supply for the present, but the situation is critical, sources said.

The current allotment by the Delhi Government was sufficient for 300 patients only, they said.  The hospital has a total of 650 beds.

The hospital has a daily requirement of more than 3.5 MT of oxygen and the local Government was providing one MT till Monday, they said adding the supply was now reduced to 0.42 MT.

In order to avoid any crisis situation, the Army has scrambled to get resources. A vehicle with 100 empty oxygen cylinders has left for Haridwar, the source said adding, some cylinders have also been procured from Palwal.

With the surge in Covid cases in the second wave, the Base Hospital was recently converted into an exclusive Covid facility of 650 beds for armed forces and veterans. At present, 450 beds are provided with oxygen.

To meet the demand for beds, a plan has also been put in place to augment the capacity of the hospital to 900 oxygenated beds by the second week of June.