All-Women Crew Pilots Oxygen Express Carrying 120 Tonnes Of Supplies To Bengaluru

Karnataka's Bengaluru on Friday received the seventh Oxygen Express from Jamshedpur carrying 120 metric tonnes of medical oxygen for COVID-19 patients in the state, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted on Saturday. The train was piloted by an all-female crew.

According to Goyal, the all-women crew completed their journey on May 21, starting from Tatanagar and brought relief to the India's tech hub to ensure continued supply of oxygen for COVID-19 patients in the state.

The 7th #OxygenExpress to Karnataka has arrived in Bengaluru from Tatanagar.



This Oxygen Express train piloted by an all female crew will ensure continued supply of Oxygen for COVID-19 patients in the State. pic.twitter.com/UFWgKwVyuZ

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 22, 2021

According to Railway officials, the eighth Oxygen Express also reached Bengaluru from Jamnagar in Gujarat, carrying 109.2 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen early this morning.

On May 1, 2021, the government of Karnataka had requested Indian Railways to assist in the transportation of liquid medical oxygen. So far, the state has received 712.94 tonnes of liquid oxygen by the Indian Railways. The railways had stepped up their assistance immediately due to the crisis created by second wave of COVID-19 and has so far run 208 Oxygen expresses and transported nearly 13,319 tonnes of oxygen in 814 tankers to various places in the country to fight against the COVID-19 crisis. The oxygen demand in Karnataka has grown since April after the alarming rise in coronavirus cases in the state. The state has demanded that the Centre should provide at least 1,200 tonnes of oxygen daily in view of the growing cases in the state, TOI reported.

Karnataka on Friday reported 32,218 COVID-19 cases, taking the total cases of infections and fatalities to 23.67 lakh and 24,207 respectively.

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, nearly 4,000 patients have died in just 20 days since May 1. Doctors in North Karnataka have also observed a rise in the number of patients recovering from the virus contracting mucormycosis or black fungus infection, TOI reported. The state will remain in lockdown till June 7 to contain the spread, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Friday.

Featured Image Credit: Piyush Goyal/India Today