Kathmandu, May 26: The Ministry of Health and Population has urged one and all to return the oxygen cylinders taken personally or by any other means.

Ministry's associate spokesman Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, through a notice today, requested for returning the cylinders taken for personal, institutional, isolation centre and hospital use to the company or hospital that owns them.

Dr Adhikari said although the supply of medical oxygen has eased, there was problem as cylinders taken by persons or institutions are not returned. "The tendency of taking oxygen cylinders from one company to the next has also much increased. This might create problem in the coming days," he said.

It is stated that if oxygen cylinders remain left unused in remote places or at people's home, then the infected people undergoing treatment in hospital ICUs will be in problem.

The Ministry has also urged for making arrangements for the coordination for stopping and having stopped making decision beyond technical knowledge and wisdom on a topic as medical oxygen during the time of the pandemic. It also called for making coordination so that oxygen cylinders do not go outside the hospital supply system.

There are oxygen plants at 32 hospitals and liquid oxygen plants at three hospitals at present, the Ministry has stated.

The government has brought 900 oxygen concentrator and 5,000 oxygen cylinders after the onset of the second wave of COVID-19. It has been presently importing 70 to 80 tonnes liquid oxygen from India in a week.