NEW DELHI: As Delhi reeled under sorrow and stress and anxiety with increasing cases of Covid-19 and social media websites flooded with SOS messages from people seeking support in getting a healthcare facility bed, oxygen cylinders or medications, the Delhi government made an impassioned plea to the Centre to provide medical oxygen saying the city is dealing with a severe shortage with a lot of health centers having oxygen left for just 8 to 24 hr.

Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi.

I again advise the Centre to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi.

Some medical facilities are entrusted to just a couple of hours of oxygen, the chief minister tweeted on Tuesday, the first day of the six-day lockdown.

The Centre, however, kept in an affidavit to the Delhi high court and in the Prime Minister's telecasted address on Tuesday night that there was no scarcity of oxygen.A two-judge bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli declined the Centre's claim, which stated there was no gap in oxygen supply to Delhi which commercial use of oxygen was prohibited with effect from April 22, and suggested decrease in steel and petroleum production to divert oxygen to Covid-19 patients.

It said economic interests can not bypass human lives.

Shortage is now.

You have to do it (ban) now.

Check out taking some oxygen from steel and petroleum markets.

They have big pockets and huge lobbies, however tell them if they need to cut production, then they can cut production.

Lives have to be conserved, the bench said.The court mentioned the example of a Central government counsel whose dad was confessed in healthcare facility and was on oxygen assistance, but due its scarcity, oxygen was being supplied at a lowered pressure to him to save it.

Can you ask him to hang on till April 22? the court asked.

It said if absolutely nothing was done, then we are heading for a bigger catastrophe .

Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday many medical facilities in Delhi have between 8 to 12 hours of oxygen stock left while some have stock left for 48 hours and sounded an alert.

Most of the Delhi healthcare facilities have oxygen left for just 8 to 12 hours.

We have actually been demanding a boost in the oxygen supply quota for Delhi for the past one week which the Centre needs to do.

If adequate oxygen is not supplied to medical facilities by tomorrow morning, a protest will be created, Mr Sisodia tweeted.He attached a list of Delhi's 18 personal and federal government hospitals with the oxygen supply they had left.

LNJP had 12 hours of oxygen left, Ganga Ram 16-18 hours, Max Patpargunj, 8-10 hours.

Ganga Ram has 485 Covid beds, of which 475 are inhabited.

Around 120 patients are currently in the ICU.

Its chairman Dr D.S.

Rana said, 6,000 cubic meters of it is left, which at the rate of present consumption will last till 1 am.

Need immediate replenishment.

Mr Kejriwal, who remains in seclusion after his other half evaluated positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, had on Sunday called the lack of oxygen for coronavirus patients an emergency situation .

He also composed to Union minister of commerce and industries Piyush Goyal, seeking his intervention in the matter.

But on Tuesday the Union ministry of health, represented by additional solicitor basic Chetan Sharma, told the Delhi high court that there has actually been an excessive boost of 133 per cent in the projected medical oxygen required in Delhi as on April 20-- from the initial estimate of 300 metric tonnes, it's gone up to 700 metric tonnes.The ministry said all the states, including Delhi, have to rationalize using oxygen and restrict abnormal usage and administering oxygen to the clients who do not scientifically require the same.

States have to carry out oxygen intake monitoring in hospitals including private healthcare facilities and to undertake facility-wise/hospital-wise oxygen stock mapping and advance planning for prompt replenishment so that supply can be effectively handled, it submitted.The court asked the Centre whether oxygen supplied to markets can be diverted for Covid-19 patients, stating, Industries can wait.

Patients can not.

Human lives are at stake ...

If the lockdown continues then whatever would come to a halt and for that reason, what would be the need for steel, gas and diesel during such a circumstance.

We may end up losing almost a crore of people.

Are we going to accept that, the bench stated.

It likewise suggested increasing Covid beds in health centers which have their own oxygen generating capacity.