At Belapu, the first oxygen refilling plant in the Udupi district has been set up, which will supply hospitals and industrial units with industrial and medical oxygen cylinders. S N Cryogenics, based in Manipal, has started the plant on the premises of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board.
If liquid oxygen arrives as planned, the plant will be able to supply oxygen cylinders in two days, according to unit head Nataraj.
At present, hospitals and industries in the Udupi district depend on three oxygen units in Mangaluru’s Baikampady and Karnad districts. Once the Belapu unit is operational, reliance on other districts will be reduced.
Liquid oxygen will be delivered to the refilling plant from Bengaluru and Torangal, near Ballari. The plant will store 20,000 cubic metres of liquid oxygen at -180 degrees Fahrenheit and then refill the cylinders until the liquid oxygen has been converted to gas. Over 40 private and government hospitals in the district, including those in Udupi, Manipal, Kundapur, Brahmavar, and Karkala, will benefit from it. According to Nataraj, the Belapu plant would be able to supply oxygen with lower shipping costs and in a shorter amount of time. According to Nataraj, the Belapu plant would be able to supply oxygen with lower shipping costs and in a shorter amount of time. All requisite licenses for the plant have been issued, according to Udupi’s additional deputy commissioner Sadashiva Prabhu, allowing the district to quickly handle medical emergencies.
