Private sector produce 162,000-kg oxygen per day in Kabul

KABUL (Pajhwok): Private sector in capital Kabul produce over 162,000 kilograms of oxygen in 24 hours but still a large number of coronavirus patients die due to shortage of the element.

In addition, some residents in capital Kabul complained against high oxygen rates and asked the government to pay attention to the problem.

Recently, demand for oxygen increased as more coronavirus cases started to emerge but government and private sector still failed to supply adequate supply of the element to the market.

Maryam, a resident of Kabul’s Kolola Pushta locality, said she arrived in the oxygen producing factory to purchase a cylinder of it to help her father suffering from coronavirus infection.

She said due to high number of customers, one cannot easily get oxygen from the factory. “I came at 3:00am and waiting for my turn to get a cylinder. Now it is 12:00pm but I am still waiting.”

Sabera Shafifi, the resident of Barchi locality, said her father suffering from coronavirus from the past one month but she could not get oxygen cylinder easily.

She said market price of the element is very high but in the factory, 10 kilogram cylinder is filled free of cost while 42 kilogram cylinder is filled against 400 afghanis.

Hamid, the resident of capital Kabul, said: “I daily visit oxygen producing companies to get a cylinder of it to help my patient who is in critical condition.”

He also said a 42 litres cylinder is filled against 400 afghani in the factory but on higher prices in the market.

Assistant Health Minister Mirwais Alizai when asked about the oxygen shortage said the problem as the private sector was actively working on the regard.

He said private sector produced 3,850 cylinders of oxygen in 24 hours of which 300 cylinders supplied to public health ministry.

In Kabul alone, 161,700 litres oxygen is produced in 24 hours but some traders hoarding oxygen for later sales which caused shortage of the element and the death of many ailing people, he added.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus, 4,871 people have lost their lives in Afghanistan with majority of them died due to the shortage of oxygen.