The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday appealed to several 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 expressed the government has requested JSW, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), Tamil Nadu Newsprintand Papers Ltd (TNPL) and other entities to accelerate measures towards producing medical oxygen in view of a rise in demand.
On Sunday, Tamil Nadu 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 added the state government proposed to establish a facility to accommodate 300 beds equipped with oxygen aid, 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 said.
To an enquiry, he stated 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.
Former, Chief Minister M K Stalin interacted with industry leaders at a meeting and explained about the measures taken by his government to rein in the virus spread.
He sought their cooperation for the two-week full lockdown, an official release said.
After attending to the views and demands put forth by the associations, Stalin said his government would make suitable announcements on Monday.
