Uttarakhand Govt To Rope In Sugar Mills To Increase Oxygen Generation Capacity Amid Surge In COVID Cases

Uttarakhand Minister Swami Yatishwaranand has reportedly asked officials to rope in sugar mills to start producing oxygen amid the Covid-19 surge in the state.

Two sugar mills in Haridwar -- Laksar Sugar Mill and Uttam Sugar Mill -- have agreed to produce medical grade oxygen, the minister has reportedly said.

Yatishwaranand is said to have cited the example of Osmanabad in Maharashtra. Amid the shortage of medical oxygen supply in Maharashtra, a sugar mill in Osmanabad district is reportedly all set to "generate 20 metric tonnes of oxygen per day from its ethanol plant."

The minister has asked officials to start work in a similar direction.

HT says in a report on its website: "The minister said he had spoken to the management of the Dharashiv Sugar Mill in Osmanabad and also collected information about a dozen sugar mills that are running oxygen plants in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh".

Yatishwaranand reportedly quoted Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane Minister Suresh Rana and said that oxygen plants can be set up in sugar mills that are producing ethanol -- like the two mills in Haridwar.