Jindal Steel & Power Limited has said that it was prepared to compromise its steel production briefly to supply oxygen to hospitals to save human lives amidst a dangerous surge in COVID-19 cases in India. The extraordinary announcement by the JSPL came amidst COVID-19 cases reaching an alarming level across the country.
JSPL Managing Director VR Sharma said in a statement, “JSPL has been supplying 50-100 MT of liquid oxygen to hospitals in Chhattisgarh & Odisha daily.”
Sharma added, “We can compromise steel production for a while to supply oxygen to the government to save precious lives. Our priority is people first.”
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— JINDAL STEEL & POWER (@JSPLCorporate) April 16, 2021
Earlier, Naveen Jindal’s brother Sajjan Jindal had made a similar pledge as he wrote, “#COVID19 has started spreading again and we need Oxygen for saving lives. #OXYGEN is a raw material in Steel plants and at this crucial time, we have committed to the government to prioritize saving lives over steel making.”
#COVID19 has started spreading again and we need Oxygen for saving lives. #OXYGEN is a raw material in Steel plants and at this crucial time, we have committed to the government to prioritize saving lives over steel making. @CMOMaharashtra @PMOIndia @SteelMinIndia @MoHFW_INDIA
— Sajjan Jindal (@sajjanjindal) April 9, 2021
The new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the country with India recording more than two lakh daily cases. Crematorium grounds have been struggling to deal with the number of dead. The government has cancelled this year’s Class 10 CBSE exams, while NEET and UP Board exams have been postponed along with Class 12 CBSE exams.