Maharashtra: Vehicles carrying oxygen to be treated at par with ambulances

The notification issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, states that following the outbreak of Covid-19 in the state, the government "considers it expedient to make easily available the supply of oxygen in hospitals for timely treatment of patients of coronavirus".

Vehicles carrying oxygen cylinders for medical use will be treated at par with ambulances as emergency vehicles in Maharashtra for the period of a year. The state home department issued a notification to this effect on Monday in light of the high demand for oxygen cylinders for patients suffering from Covid-19. A lot of complaints over delays in delivery of oxygen have come from areas with low access.

The notification issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, states that following the outbreak of Covid-19 in the state, the government “considers it expedient to make easily available the supply of oxygen in hospitals for timely treatment of patients of coronavirus”.

Accordingly, under sections of the Disaster Management Act “vehicles permitted for carrying oxygen for medicinal purposes shall be treated at par with ambulance for carrying oxygen, for a period of one year during such disaster and thereby treating such vehicles as vehicle on emergency and disaster management duties”.