The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) K West ward office has appealed to the upscale housing societies in Andheri (West), Oshiwara, Juhu and Versova to adhere to the Covid-19 protocols. The civic body had recently conducted a study on the cases reported in the last two months. It revealed that more than 95 per cent of the cases were from non-slum areas. 70 per cent of the fresh cases had a history of venturing out for personal or occupational needs.
According to the BMC dashboard, KW ward has 390 active cases, which is the highest amongst all the 24 municipal wards. On an average, 20 to 30 cases are being reported. Also, more than 70 per cent of the people from this ward reside in high-rises.
In an official circular issued to the housing societies, the civic body said that the entry and exit of outsiders should be restricted. It also urged them to ensure all eligible residents are vaccinated.
"People have lowered their guard. Now that we are anticipating the third wave, it's important for people to follow all the protocols. The situation may worsen otherwise," said Prithviraj Chouhan, assistant municipal commissioner and incharge of KW ward.
When the second wave was at its peak, Chouhan was incharge of M West (Chembur and Tilak Nagar) ward, which had the highest growth rate. Chouhan and his team were credited for lowering the infection rate in a short period of time. "After the first wave receded, people began venturing out. This eventually led to the outbreak of the second wave. Now, we need to be cautious in advance so that history does not repeat itself," Chouhan said.
Meanwhile, residents and public representatives said that many housing societies still don't follow the protocols. Aneesh Naval Makwaney, local BJP corporator from Juhu, said that he received several such complaints in the past few weeks. "There are people who continue to roam around without wearing a mask. Many are still apprehensive about vaccines. We are working on the ground to ensure maximum people get inoculated," said Makwaney.
Anil Garg, a senior member of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen's Association (LOCA) and Andheri resident said, "It would be really helpful if BMC gives a periodic report on their assessment of the total number of residents vaccinated in our ward.”
At present, there are 13 sealed buildings and 166 buildings with sealed floors (SF) in KW ward.
