Udupi district’s first oxygen refilling unit comes up at Belapu

Kaup: The first oxygen refilling unit in the Udupi district has been set up at Belapu in Kaup taluk in wake of the shortage of oxygen needed for those COVID-19 patients suffering from severe respiratory problems.

The unit is owned by SN Cryogenics Private Limited in the KIADB industrial area and will be able to supply medical oxygen once liquid oxygen is supplied to the unit as planned.

The liquid oxygen required for the refilling unit is being brought from Bengaluru and Torangal near Bellary. The unit can store 20 thousand cubic meters of liquid oxygen at once, which will then be processed into gas and filled into cylinders.

At present, hospitals and industries in the Udupi district rely on three oxygen refiling units operating in Baikampadi and Karnad industrial areas. The reliance on other districts will be reduced when the Belapu unit starts operating.

“More than 40 government and private hospitals in Udupi, Manipal, Kundapur, Brahmavara and Karkala in the district, will be able to receive oxygen sooner with less shipping costs,” said Nataraj, head of the unit.

“All permits have been issued for the district’s first oxygen refilling plant and it will be commissioned soon. The new unit will enable faster management of medical emergencies in the district,” said Sadashiv Prabhu, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Udupi District.