The use of entire oxygen towards medical use has hit the production of laser cutting industries here, leading to job loss, according to unit owners. There are oxygen-dependent metal cutting companies who have shifted their jobs on compressors as an alternative but the produce is not of required quality, they said.

"The situation is crucial, just wait and watch is what we can do now," an official of an industrial association told PTI on Monday. The laser cutting companies require oxygen as their component. The government has diverted the entire oxygen production for medical use in the state.