Failing to contain the spread of COVID-19, Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) Commissioner Pravin Ashtikar was replaced by IAS officer Dr Pankaj Ashiya on Saturday.
81 fresh cases were reported in Bhiwandi on Saturday, taking the toll to 875 cases. Owing to the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, the state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, which has a capacity of 100 beds for COVID-19 patients, is now full. Ashiya is said to have done a good job in curbing the cases in Malegaon, where he was appointed by the Nashik District Disaster Management Authority as the special monitoring officer in the city. Prior to this, the 2015 batch IAS officer was appointed as the assistant secretary at NITI Aayog.
Reportedly, on June 9, Ashiya had visited Thane Municipal Corporation Commissioner Vijay Singhal over the rapid number of positive cases in Mumbra. Ashiya was just appointed as special monitoring officer in Thane to combat the pandemic. He served for only 10 days in Thane.
