As the country grapples with the second wave of Covid-19, contractors carrying out works in 51 stations of the Bengaluru metro are now facing a serious setback due to a shortage of oxygen in the city.

Metro construction sites utilise one or two oxygen cylinders per day for building-related reinforcement works depending on the kind of construction activity being done.

According to metro officials, a crucial requirement in infrastructure works is the cutting and joining of structural steel for slabs and piers in Metro stations. Metro officials are predicting a serious impact on construction with the surge in demand for oxygen for emergency medical use.

Contractors have told the media that 80% of welding, gas cutting and fabrication works which require oxygen due to the sudden lack of supply.

The surging Covid-19 situation in Bengaluru has created much apprehension in a section of migrant workers who went to Bihar and Chattisgarh for Holi and to West Bengal to take part in the election polls. According to the contractors, over 10% of the workforce is yet to the construction sites.

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