New Delhi: Commenting on the Covid management in the Capital, the Delhi High Court on Friday said, "We are a complete hotch-potch in Delhi, we don't have time to figure this out now. We have a problem of oxygen. Once we cross that, we can look at other issues".
The remarks from the bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli came as they continued hearing Covid-19 related matters in the Capital and the issue of inefficient bed-monitoring by the Delhi government was brought up and discussed.
During the hearing, advocate Krishnan Venugopal, for one of the hospitals, suggested that a single website should be created to help people in real-time even as advocate Malvika Trivedi, for another hospital, said, "The Janta Samwad website is completely incorrect and is not being updated in real-time."
Amicus curiae, sr. advocate Rajshekhar Rao, also submitted, "There has to be one website so that people don't go helter-skelter".
The court took note of these submissions and remarked that the Delhi government's portal on beds is pointless if there is no mechanism to book a bed. "All this data makes sense if one needs to book a bed. Whether it is showing 1 bed or 0 bed, it is only a statistical exercise until there is a mechanism to book a bed," it noted.
Advocate Trivedi argued, "Today people are not getting a response from the hospital wherever possible."
Justice Sanghi stated: "Today the situation is very different. Either we have to come up with the system where we have online allocation. That cannot be done because the patient needs to be seen first...this is something that you cannot do online. In Bombay, doctors are going to the resident and making an assessment there and then. This is being done through municipal corporation".
Meanwhile, the Delhi government and INOX supplier got into a heated blame game in court with respect to supply blockages to a select few hospitals appearing before the court.
Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra, on behalf of Delhi government, submitted: "The daily requirement of Sir Ganga Ram is 10.9 MT but it has never received full amount of oxygen from INOX. It has not even been fulfilled the next day. Where is it going?"
In response, INOX Managing Director Siddharth Jain, pinning the blame on state government, said, "Every morning they are changing allocation order like pizza delivery. We supply 45 hospitals everyday. I didn't know that Mr Mehra was also representing MAX other than the Delhi hospitals...after discussing with GNCTD, we are also picking 80MT from AIR LIQUIDE. We will now be able to supply the oxygen that we have been asked for".
On this Justice Rekha Palli intervened, "Mr. Jain you don't have to impose allegations like this".
"On all these days, yesterday as well we have delivered more than 160 MT and today also we have supplied more than 165 MT. I am surprised on the allegations that are being made against us... We have followed the order line by line..."
The court was also informed that supplier Linde would have to charge Rs. 25.22 per cubic meter in comparison to Rs. 18.22 per cubic meter, taking into account the transportation cost for bringing the oxygen from the eastern part of the country.
Moreover, one Gandhi Nursing Home approached the court on Friday seeking oxygen supply, saying 95 of its patients are on the verge of dying. Advocate Himanshu Dagar, appearing for the hospital, stated that he has also contacted the nodal officer and followed the due process. "Not even a single oxygen cylinder is available and the patients are now at the mercy of god...we are entitled to 1.1 MT of oxygen everyday and we don't even have a single cylinder".
While noting the grievance, the court ordered that the supplier to the nursing home be present today (Saturday) in the hearing and also ordered the setting up of a Whatsapp group of suppliers and hospitals to share information in real-time. The court also ordered that for the time being, Seth Air should pay Rs. 18.22 per cubic meter to Linde.