Imphal: In a major step to develop healthcare infrastructure and to ensure adequate supply of medical oxygen throughout the State, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh Tuesday inaugurated a 20 KL Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) Plant installed at Veterinary Complex, Porompat and a PSA Oxygen Plant at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS), here.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated a Cattle Feed Plant of Manipur Milk Producers’ Co-operative Union Ltd. being set up at the Veterinary Complex, Porompat.
A solemn function was organized by the Directorate of Health Services in connection with the inauguration of the Liquid Medical Oxygen Plant at the Veterinary Complex, Porompat in which Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Minister Oinam Lukhoi, Advisor to Chief Minister (Health) Dr. Sapam Ranjan and Chairman, Loktak Development Authority L. Susindro shared the dais with the Chief Minister.
Addressing the gathering, N. Biren Singh claimed that the LMO Plant inaugurated Tuesday was the first State-owned and largest among such plants in the Northeast. He appreciated the officials of the Health Department, District Administration Imphal East and other stakeholders for their tireless efforts in the successful installation of the plant.
Recalling the situation at the beginning of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when the State had only two oxygen plants and few cylinders, he expressed the hardships faced by the government and its officials to procure oxygen cylinders and medical oxygen from outside the State. It was only through the unceasing efforts of all the concerned officials that the State had now set up certain oxygen plants in various parts of the State and also procured sufficient numbers of oxygen cylinders, he added.
He further informed that the Government had decided to recruit manpower and train them with expert knowledge for operating the newly installed oxygen plants in the State. To facilitate treatment of COVID-19 positive patients, another 20 ICU beds had been added to the existing beds in JNIMS, he added.
Maintaining that the State Government was committed to provide quality health care service to all sections of people, he stated that people of the State could now avail the benefits of getting quality medicine at affordable price under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana through its exclusive outlets. He also appealed to the public to strictly observe COVID Appropriate Behaviours although the Government had lifted the curfew imposed earlier and also urged to get vaccinated at the earliest. He expressed his hopefulness that the State would be able to contain the pandemic soon with all the initiatives taken up with the cooperation of the people.
Regarding the newly inaugurated Cattle Feed Plant, he stressed the need to produce most of the required animal’s feed in the state itself. He also urged the officials to perform their duties with sincerity and commitment and to ensure proper maintenance of the machines installed in the plant.
Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Minister Oinam Lukhoi, while delivering his speech, maintained that the State Government has taken up all the necessary measures to contain the spread of the prevailing pandemic. Stating that cooperation and support of the people in the Government’s effort to fight the deadly virus, he appealed to the public to strictly observe COVID Appropriate Behaviours and SOPs.
Appreciating the Chief Minister for his timely initiative to set up several oxygen plants across the State, Advisor to Chief Minister Dr. Sapam Ranjan cautioned the public to be careful with the pandemic as genome sequencing of samples showed that almost all the samples tested are of delta variant. He also stated that the pandemic was spreading more in rural areas and stressed on the importance of vaccination to prevent the pandemic.
It may be mentioned that the 20 KL Liquid Medical Oxygen Cryogenic Storage Tank inaugurated today has the storage capacity of 2,600 D-type oxygen cylinders and a refilling capacity of 40 D-type cylinders per minute while the PSA plant inaugurated at JNIMS has a capacity of producing 1000 litres of oxygen per minute (LPM).
The Feed Plant which was inaugurated had been set up at the total cost of Rs. 80.43 lakhs including civil works, equipment and electric power connection. The fund for the same was provided by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, the Government of India under the central scheme of the National Programme for Dairy Development. The Feed Mixing Plant has a capacity to produce 3 MT of cattle feed per hour. The Feed Plant would cater to the demands of compound cattle feed for the dairy farmers of the state.
Principal Secretary V. Vumlunmang, Commissioner H. Gyan Prakash and other Government Officials also attended the programme among others.
Later, the Chief Minister inspected the site at Sangaithel where the State Government is planning to construct the Manipur Olympian Park in honour of all the Olympians of the State. He expressed his desire to install the symbol of the Olympics, consisting of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions that represent the union of the five continents, at the site.
A shed will also be constructed at the site where statues of 19 Olympians of the State will be installed, he added. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Education Minister Sorokhaibam Rajen and Tourism Minister Oinam Lukhoi during the visit.
