The difference between a politician and a statesman is that while the former’s approach to issues is almost invariably guided by personal interests, the latter thinks in terms of national interests. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s statesman-like qualities were once again on display when he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal the other day and offered them all possible cooperation in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic including supply of oxygen to the national capital which is battling a severe shortage amidst a surge in positive cases.
Patnaik’s office confirmed the telephonic conversation between the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister. “The CM said it is a war-like situation & Odisha will extend all cooperation at the national level including ramping up oxygen production to assist other states in this emergency,” CMO Odisha said in a tweet. On the other hand, Kejriwal made public his interaction with Patnaik stating that Odisha Chief Minister had offered to facilitate oxygen supply to Delhi. “Received a call from Sh Naveen Patnaik ji. He has assured complete support to Delhi in facilitating lifting of Delhi’s quota of oxygen from Odisha. He has put a spl officer on the job. Thank u sooo much Sir. Delhi is indeed grateful,” Kejriwal tweeted.
Delhi, as we all know, is facing a massive health crisis with rising number of cases stretching its healthcare facilities and oxygen supply. Last Wednesday, several hospitals in the national capital had sent out distress calls to the government about dwindling oxygen supply. Some had even blamed neighbouring states for blocking supplies. With the situation turning alarming, Kejriwal also spoke to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and sought his support in facilitating transport of oxygen trucks from Haryana to Delhi.
Currently, a major chunk of the freshly allotted quota of oxygen to Delhi comes from Odisha which is several hundred kilometres away. Hence Delhi government is planning to airlift oxygen to ensure that critical patients receive help in time and precious lives are saved. Given this backdrop, Patnaik’s magnanimous gesture for help has engendered a lot of goodwill, winning him lakhs of new admirers across India.
Luckily, Odisha has a flourishing steel industry which can play a big role in ramping up the production of oxygen, the element that is required to turn iron into steel. The state government is likely to ask all the steel units based in Odisha to increase the production of oxygen in their plants. With a little more effort, the state can not only have enough oxygen for its own medical needs but also supply it to states like Delhi which are battling a severe shortage of the vital gas.
Patnaik has also handled the situation in the state extremely well, alerting district administrations about the likely arrival of Odia workers employed in other states and asking hospitals to increase the number of beds with oxygen support. While the state’s health infrastructure has already been sufficiently upgraded, enforcement authorities have been instructed to ensure compliance of COVID protocol. The pandemic is being fought with a high level of efficiency but there is no trace of highhandedness in the government’s approach. This has been the outstanding feature of governance under the five-time Chief Minister.
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