While Bhopal is fighting a tough battle against Covid-19, equipment is proving Achilles’ heel. The state’s capital is having merely five machines for sanitization across the city. These machines are pressed for sanitization into containment zones and other designated places. The figure is poorer for fogging in the city. Due to a lesser number of vehicles and machines, the fogging and sanitization drive is getting hit.
The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) had 12 sanitization machines and during the outbreak of Covid-19, all were loaded on tractors and sent all across the city. Later, the civic body transferred 6 machines to the garden and other sections. Of the remaining six, while one is lying defunct in the workshop, only five are being used for sanitization.
Similarly, the fogging machines were already short in number and now over half of the equipment have ‘disappeared’. The municipal body had 10 large fogging machines, and 9 handheld ones. All 19 machines were deployed in every zone. The BMC council had passed a proposal for buying hand held machines for all the wards. But, even the machines available with the zones are lying unused.
BMC officials in zones also claimed that they were not getting the machines for their areas. They said that they have to call the in-charge all the time asking for machines for sanitization.
Additional commissioner in the BMC Shahshwat Meena , however said that the civic boy will ensure regular fogging in the areas from where complaints are coming. He also assured to deploy additional machines for the sanitization and fogging.
Rs 1 crore thermal power fogging machines gathering dust
Interestingly, the civic body had purchased thermal power fogging machines at a cost of Rs 1 crore, in 2018 but these machines have not been used even for once. The thermal power machines are gathering dust at Ginnori and 10 Number market.
