India’s Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Karambir Singh, has briefed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on how Navy is bringing oxygen containers and other medical supplies to India from Gulf nations. Admiral Singh “apprised the Prime Minister that the Indian Navy is transporting medical supplies from Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait to India,” said readout of the briefing by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“Medical personnel in the Navy have been redeployed at various hospitals in the country to manage COVID-19 duties. Naval personnel are being provided Battle Field Nursing Assistant Training to augment medical staff deployed in COVID-19 hospitals,” India’s Ministry of Defence said.

The UAE is the first Gulf nation that rushed medical supplies to India to help in its fight against Covid-19. The supplies were sent by plane to India last month when second wave of infections surged in the country. Supplies sent from the UAE included 157 ventilators, 480 Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) machines and Favipiravir medicine.

Other GCC states are steadily sending aid to India to help alleviate oxygen shortage and also fulfill urgent need of medical equipment for Covid-19 patients. Kuwait has contributed 215 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen and 1,000 oxygen cylinders to India, according to the Embassy of Kuwait in New Delhi.

282 oxygen cylinders, 60 oxygen concentrators, ventilators and other medical supplies were sent via military aircraft from the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society that landed in New Delhi on Wednesday. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Talwar, carrying two liquid oxygen tanks of 27 tonnes each from Bahrain, reached port of New Mangalore in Karnataka state on Thursday, India’s Ministry of Defence said. Bahrain’s Communication and Media Directorate relayed Kingdom’s solidarity with India and reiterated its support to the nation to fight pandemic.

“Four naval ships are en route to the Gulf to pick up nine 27-tonne oxygen tanks and more than 1500 oxygen cylinders from GCC countries. The deployment of a total of nine ships in all as part of "Operation Samudra Setu II" forms a part of multiple lines of effort by the Indian Navy to supplement oxygen requirement in India,” Indian Navy said in a statement. 

WAM