Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and acute oxygen crisis in the country, a video has surfaced on social media platforms showing gas being released from an oxygen tanker claiming that oxygen is being wasted at Delhi’s Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (DDU).
A Facebook user shared the video with a caption in Hindi that translates to, “Another act of Kejri Bai (Kejriwal), this is the DDU hospital of Delhi government. Here, since morning, the oxygen is kept open so that the oxygen could be wasted and then pretend that there is a lack of oxygen in Delhi to harass the public.”
The video is viral on Facebook and Twitter with a similar narrative.
BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga has also shared the video with a similar caption.
Click here for an archive of the post.
Similar posts can be found here, here, and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the post and found it to be misleading.
On performing a keyword search, we found a statement released by Dr BL Chaudhary, Medical Director of Deendayal Upadhyay Hospital, dated May 7, 2021. In the statement, he dismissed the claim made with the viral video and describing it as a normal process.
The statement reads, “This video shows a normal process where some gas escapes when there is a pressure build-up. Each tanker containing liquid oxygen has a pressure release valve (safety valve) just like a pressure cooker. Whenever the pressure inside the tanker increases due to difference in temperature between the atmosphere and inside the tanker the valve opens up automatically to release pressure. Once this pressure becomes equal or pressure inside the tanker the valve then closes automatically. This is a safety mechanism which is installed in all the tankers containing liquid oxygen so as to prevent the tanker from bursting.”
It statement further read, “All doctors are working so hard, most of us have been here sleepless for nights, risking our lives. Such whimsical allegations are a big let down on the morale of all Health Care Workers who are discharging their duties with utmost dedication and foremost priority. It’s such a difficult time and such things should not be done for cheap publicity.”
Speaking to The Logical Indian, Srivatsa Thimmaiah, Deputy General Manager (Marketing Projects) of Mangalore refinery and petrochemical said, “It appears from the video that the oxygen might be seen leaking through either from flange due to rupture of gasket or safety valve passing and this might have happened due to increase in pressure inside the tanker with an increase in temperature. Normally, if oxygen has to be withdrawn, then it is done through regulator valve which is mostly in the bottom of the tanker.”
Delhi is one of the worst affected parts of the country due to COVID-19. To battle the oxygen crisis in the state, the government has recently launched a web portal to supply oxygen to COVID-19 infected patients who are dealing with the disease in home- quarantine.
In conclusion, we can say that the video is being with misleading claims and incorrect information.
If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 9799
Error: Contact form not found.
Click here for Latest News updates and viral videos on our AI-powered smart news