To ensure that there is no shortage of medicine, steps would be taken, the chief minister added. (File)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday claimed that there was no crisis of medical oxygen supply for coronavirus patients in the state, and that efforts were on to tide over the shortage of injections.
His statement comes amid allegations that shortage of oxygen supply in the state is leading to the death of coronavirus patients.
"There is no oxygen crisis. I talked to the Gujarat government and the centre. We are getting additional oxygen from Bhilai. I had a word with Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Tankers started coming today," Mr Chouhan told reporters.
"At the government level, we decided yesterday to buy injections (Remdesivir) which are in shortage. There is a government procedure (to acquire them)," he said.
To ensure that there is no shortage of medicine, steps would be taken, the chief minister added.
He made the statement after a report published in a newsaper claimed that three patients in Sagar and one in Khargone died for want of oxygen in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in a strongly-worded release issued on Thursday evening said, "The deaths reported due to the shortage of oxygen in different districts in the last 24 hours were not natural but it occurred due to the carelessness of the state government."
"It is unfortunate that the chief minister is doing farce of ''Swasthya Agrah'' (health request which he did by sitting in a tent for 24 hours beginning Tuesday noon and asking people to adhere to coronavirus protocol), instead of improving health facilities," state CPI(M) secretary Jaswinder Singh alleged.
While the second wave of coronavirus is more severe, the state government, instead of improving health facilities, indulged in spending money in publicity and hypocrisy, thereby putting the lives of the people at risk, he added.
The CPI(M) also alleged that black-marketing of oxygen was happening with the government's patronage.
Mr Singh said that CPI(M)demands that the government should look into improving the health facilities.