What's Ramzan in Mumbai, without a food walk at Mohammed Ali Road in south Mumbai? Known as a street that never sleeps especially during the month of Ramzan, Mohammed Ali Road which now wears a deserted look amid lockdown this year.
Infamous as the hotbed of illegal buildings and violating rules, B ward which constitutes of Mohammed Ali Road, Pydhonie, Dongri, residents in these areas seem to have collectively decided to follow the government advisories and stay at home.
B ward has been one of the four wards which have been marked as the least affected wards across the city and it has a recovery rate of 46 per cent. So far, this ward has 87 Covid-19 cases, including 10 deaths. However, only six people in the ward have been home quarantined, BMC officials said.
Besides B ward is among the two wards in Mumbai that have contributed to a decrease in the average doubling rate in the city. In B ward, it earlier took 5.4 days for cases to double, while now it takes approximately 37.6 days for the same.
Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, BMC said there are few wards in the city which has less than 100 corona cases, of which B ward is one of them. If all the wards follow the lockdown strictly then cases will be under control. Half of the cases in B ward are of those who do not reside in this area. Moreover, discharge and doubling rate is high compared to other wards,” he said.
Nitin Arte, B ward, Ward officer said since the first case was reported in Mumbai their main agenda was to limit the spread of the virus and to be more active in creating more awareness amongst the residents. “Effective monitoring and aggressive tracing of close contacts have caused the numbers to stay low. As soon as we detect a positive case, we immediately trace the contacts and put them in quarantine,” he said.
B ward is one of the smallest civic wards in the city with a population of 1.3 lakh. It is one of the oldest areas in the city with more than 70 per cent of the Muslim population.
Arte added they have received good support from the local police, corporators and even residents due to which cases are under control. “We had carried out a massive awareness campaign about the coronavirus. Police officials were keeping a close tab on each and every movement of residents and were ensuring social distancing was maintained,” he added.
Amin Patel, MLA, Congress said, “There are fewer slum pockets due to which cases are under control. All necessary care is being taken by everyone during Ramzan also. People are strictly following the rules and we hope more people will be cured."
