NRL earmarks Rs 25 Crore to fight COVID-19 Pandemic

New Delhi: In view of the extraordinary situation arising in the country and the state of Assam due to the 2nd Wave of COVID-19 pandemic that has seen a steep surge in infections and fatalities, Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has earmarked a budget of Rs 25 crore to ramp up facilities and provisions to tackle the pandemic.

The company is setting up a makeshift COVID Hospital in Jorhat Medical College & Hospital at an estimated cost of Rs 7 crore within a period of one month. The 120 bedded Hospital will have 20 ICU beds having ventilators, cardiac monitor, Oxygen Concentrators and Oxygen cylinders. In addition, a 100 bedded COVID Care Centre will be set up at Titabar Civil Hospital. Similar COVID Care Centres are also being set up in adjacent Sarupathar, Bokakhat and Golaghat. The VKNRL School of Nursing at Numaligarh is being converted to a 70 bedded COVID Care Centre by mid- May 2021 to be manned by Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics of VKNRL Hospital round the clock.

NRL is also in the process of handing over medical equipment and provisions including N95 masks, Pulse Oximeters, hand sanitizers, air conditioners, nebulizers, BP measuring instruments to Golaghat Govt. Hospital. The company is procuring 250 oxygen cylinders (10 ltrs./47 ltrs) which is expected to be delivered by the 3rd week of June 2021 to be distributed to hospitals in the state. Additionally, Oxygen concentrators are being procured to be supplied to various hospitals. Earlier, NRL had procured 35 nos. Deep Freezers and handed it over to Health Deptt, Government of Assam Govt. for storage of vaccines.

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As a  Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas initiative, NRL is setting up Oxygen plants of capacity 500/1000 litres per minute to meet the requirement of 4  Bihar Medical Colleges and Hospitals to be commissioned by July 2021.

NRL is also ramping up its vaccination drive to cover more and more employees, their families, contractors, stakeholders and people in nearby areas. Covid Care centres, Isolation and Quarantine centres have been set up in Numaligarh and Siliguri for NRL employees and their families and a 500 litres per minute Oxygen plant is being installed in VK NRL Hospital situated within NRL Township within July 2021. Further, distributions of surgical masks in the neighbourhood of Numaligarh, Golaghat, Bokakhat and Dergaon is being scaled up with more than 2 lakh masks already distributed.

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