Police to escort oxygen tankers in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Police will with immediate effect escort cryogenic oxygen tanker trucks bringing liquid oxygen into Telangana by road, so that they move smoothly and swiftly towards their destinations for delivering the life-saving gas to hospitals in the state.

This decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar here on Friday and attended by senior officials including those from police and transport departments. The meeting was held on instructions of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, a government news release stated.

The CS explained in the statement that Telangana is currently getting oxygen supplies from Angul in Odisha and Bellary in Karnataka. Owing to the emergency, it is imperative that any delay in transportation is cut down. Police escorts are hence being given to the oxygen tankers to ensure trouble-free and faster travel of oxygen tankers towards their destinations.

Somesh Kumar instructed transport department and TSRTC to form teams of mechanics, whose services might be needed for attending to any breakdowns en route. He asked RTC to ensure availability of experienced drivers, who will work in shifts to make sure that the tanker trucks travel continuously.

At the same time, the Chief Secretary asked officials to continue coordinating with Indian Railways and Indian Air Force for transporting empty oxygen tankers to Angul and Bellary. He pointed out that using IAF transport aircraft has cut down travel time of tankers by three days. The green channel being ensured by Railways too has speeded up arrival of oxygen supplies into Telangana.