Mumbai In a bid to ensure strict vigilance, the BMC has decided to realign the containment zones in the city, making them 'watertight'. The new rules will not only make for better management but also bring relief to Mumbaikars.
Henceforth there will be 'containment zones' and 'sealed buildings. The larger area or zone in a city will be designated containment zone and will be managed by the police, civic officials, and MLAs.
Sealed buildings in containment zones will be managed by the societies. The responsibility for maintaining social distancing will rest with the management committee of the housing societies, while the civic body will advise and guide the committee on the guidelines to be followed.
Earlier, the civic body would supply essential commodities like rations to buildings in containment zones, but now, it will connect the vendors to the management committees of the sealed buildings, who will place orders with vendors, who will in turn, deliver the goods to their respective buildings.
The new policy further states, the decision to seal a building will be taken based on the structure and other facilities of the housing society.
In case a positive case is found in a building, only that particular wing or building will be sealed and not the entire society; this will be a relief for other residents and also ensure there is no unnecessary panic.
Earlier, a single ward was likely to have multiple containment zones, but now the civic body will mark those sealed buildings in a given area which collectively fall under one category and monitor these along with the police. Standalone buildings and chawls have been dropped from the overall containment zone category and re-categorised.
Under this new categorisation, the number of containment zones in Mumbai now stands at 1,110, less than half of the earlier 2,801. As many as 661 buildings have been identified by the civic body under the sealed buildings category, as on May 17.
