The city’s 20 percent population is still living in containment zones and sealed buildings although the number of active cases is on the decline in the past few weeks.
According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), there are as many as 541 active containment zones (slums and chawls) and 6,541 active sealed buildings in Mumbai at present. Nearly 40 lakh people are residing in the containment zones and sealed buildings altogether which makes up to approximately 20 percent of the city's total population.
As cases tend to go down in the city, the number of sealed buildings and active containment zones in the city has also witnessed fall in the past one-and-half months. Following the September spike, nearly 35 percent of Mumbai's population was living in the containment zones.
Earlier, in May and June this year when the pandemic was at its peak, nearly 40 percent of Mumbai's population was living in the containment zones.
"The percentage of people living in these areas has declined with time. If there is an infection in a building, then we seal the entire floor completely and all the people living in that floor fall under this category" said a senior civic health official.
Of the 24 wards the R Central Ward (Borivli) has the highest number of sealed buildings followed by P North (Malad) and T Ward (Mulund).
On the other hand, the K East Ward (Andheri East) has the highest number of slum areas marked as containment zones followed by R North Ward (Dahisar) and T Ward (Mulund).
"The areas of Borivli and Malad have a higher number of buildings coming under the containment zones. These areas have comparatively higher growth rate than the rest of the wards of the city which is why the number of people living in containment zones from this area is more" stated the official.
