From left to right – Mr Sandeep Aggarwal, Rotary Club of Delhi South Central; Ms. Anuradha Goel, Chairperson, PHDFWF; Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of Steel and Rural Development and Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, President, PHDCCI at the Oxygen Plant inauguration at TRSCH organized by PHD Family Welfare Foundation, New Delhi
Driven by self-motivation and a social responsibility towards the nation, PHD Family Welfare Foundation (PHDFWF), the social arm of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), set up an oxygen generation plant at Tirath Ram Shah Charitable Hospital (TRSCH) in New Delhi on July 23.
This is the second such oxygen generation plant installed in and around Delhi, coming as it does amidst fear of impending third wave of coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier, PHDCCI had also set up an oxygen generation plant at Medicheck Hospital at Faridabad, Haryana, which is fully-operational and can cater to any eventuality.
Delhi had witnessed grave shortage of medical grade oxygen during the peak of second wave of the pandemic in April and May 2021. The Delhi High Court had, in fact, directed hospitals to set up their own oxygen plants in June 2021, while taking a cue from the bitter experience earlier. Data estimated using the World Health Organisation (WHO) figures for new reported Covid-19 cases suggest that India would have to remain prepared toward off any eventuality in future.
Driven by self-motivation and a social responsibility towards the nation, PHD Family Welfare Foundation (PHDFWF), has been instrumental in providing a platform for proactively channelizing the efforts of India Inc. in this regard.
Mr Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel and Rural Development, Mr Sanjay Aggarwal, President, PHDCCI, Mr Vijay Bhushan, Chair— Capital Market Committee, PHDCCI and Mr Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary-General, PHDCCI, were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.
Oriflame-Sweden has been the largest contributor in the Oxygen generation plants. They have already contributed Rs 64 Lakhs and additional funds from Sweden are expected any time now. Mr. Vijay Bhushan, Chair, Capital & Commodity Market Committee, PHDCCI, has worked tirelessly for contributing towards enhancing the health infrastructure facilities, along with oxygen plant donation, in Tirath Ram Shah Charitable Hospital (TRSCH), New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel and Rural Development, said, “We are leaving no stone unturned ahead of the possibility of the third wave of Covid-19. The Government has been initiating several measures to augment the production and supply of oxygen availability in the hospitals. The initiative undertaken to install oxygen generation plant will help in providing a critical impetus to the efforts of MoHFW and catalyzing health systems activities for pandemic management.” As a responsible apex body, PHDCCI has been taking the lead in propagating the idea of remaining prepared in terms of capacity and quality in health care infrastructure to meet the challenges posed by any health crisis in the future, he added.
Mr Sanjay Aggarwal, President, PHDCCI, said, “The country had faced an acute shortage of oxygen in the second wave and hospitals across the country were struggling to keep the supply going as the demand was huge due to the tremendous rise in caseloads. It, therefore, becomes imperative for us to remain better prepared to face such a health crisis in the future.
Mr Vijay Bhushan, Chair, Capital & Commodity Market Committee, PHDCCI, said, “For me, this marks a successful culmination of my resolve of setting up an oxygen plant at TRSCH, where I was admitted as a Covid-19 patient on April 20, 2021. I have had the first-hand experience of facing the exasperation of oxygen shortage in the hospital at that time. Consequently, I resolved that when I get well, it would be my mission to get an oxygen plant installed at TRSCH so that precious human lives could be saved“.
Mr Frederic Widell, VP, Head of South Asia & MD India, Oriflame, from their head office in New Delhi, informed PHDCCI, “Our Swedish nature has always played an important role for us since the very beginning we have always considered the combination of nature and science to be an important part of how we do things to offer the very best to people; this is what we’ve built our reputation on.
Mr Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary-General, PHDCCI said, “The second wave had posed a challenge that was humongous for any country. Now that speculations are rife about a possible third wave, the only thing we know is that we should be prepared for it. PHDCCI is taking every initiative to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus in the likelihood of a third wave in the country.
