Indian Ambassador HE Dr Deepak Mittal on Wednesday said in Doha that about 1,200 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen will be sent from Qatar to India in the next six to eight weeks.Two cryogenic tanks carrying 40 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen left Qatar on Wednesday. The cryogenic tanks were supplied by the French government, while the liquid oxygen was filled in Qatar. The ambassador described it as a "display of global solidarity".Mittal also thanked the Qatar Airways for its decision to carry essential medical supplies to India from around the world free of charge.Qatar Airways on Monday dispatched a three-aircraft convoy of Boeing 777 freighters to India carrying 300 tonnes of aid from around the world. The three flights departed one after the other from Doha for Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi as part of Qatar Airways Cargo’s "WeQare" initiative.The shipment included PPE equipment, oxygen canisters and other essential medical items, collected from donations by individuals and companies around the world in addition to existing cargo orders.The same day, Indian expatriate community in Qatar sent 200 oxygen cylinders and 43 oxygen concentrators to India aboard INS Kolkata, one of the seven ships deployed by the Indian Navy for shipment of medical aid from various countries.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday had a telephonic conversation with His Highness the Amir of State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. He thanked the Amir for offering support in India's fight against the deadly coronavirus.Prime Minister Modi in a tweet said he had a "good conversation" with HH the Amir and conveyed India's gratitude for the care being provided to the Indian community in Qatar.On April 29, the Amir issued a directive to send urgent medical aid to India, in support of its efforts to combat the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
As India suffers the world’s worst coronavirus crisis, hospitals in the country say their patients are dying because of a shortage of oxygen as Covid case numbers and deaths set new records day by day. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the situation in India was a "devastating reminder" of what the coronavirus could do. Around 400,000 new cases are discovered daily while more than 4,000 die of the virus every day in the country.