Mumbai: Life inside containment zones is getting tougher by the day, complain residents of labyrinthine slums of Mumbai, in the absence of sufficient ration and other essentials. Distribution of essential goods in containment zones is done by the BMC and NGOs, but gaps remain, particularly in slums that are worst hit.
Many residents, their friends and even employers have taken to twitter and other social networking sites to share the plight of those living inside slums -- areas that have been cordoned off as containment zones after positive Covid-19 cases were detected on the premises. Hetteshyam Mohammed (27), an accountant with a private firm, lives in a small row in a chawl called ‘M’ ward in Worli's Jijamata Nagar slums.
With over 16 people infected with coronavirus and hundreds identified as their high-risk contacts, the Worli police are keeping a close tab on this slum pocket with a population of more than 25,000.
"Nearly all shops are closed in our area, and among those still open, very few have sufficient essential goods. A family of around 6 to 10 people cannot buy 10 kg of rice. The maximum we get is 2 kg which lasts for two to three days, even if we eat little. I have six people in my family.
Only after my friend tweeted about my family's plight, we received a package of essentials from the BMC within 24 hours. It contains 5 kg rice, 1 kg dal, 1 kg sugar and 250 gm tea powder.
In two days, this too will be over," lamented Mohammed. While residents of high-rise societies have security guards to collect vegetables and milk, residents of slums and rural areas have to keep waiting for the supplies to reach them.
Shivnarayan Singh, a resident of Utkarsh Nagar who is facing the issue of dry ration, said, "Not all shops have ration available; those that do, have been selling it at excessive rates.
I have been talking to my friends about our plight. There are 80 shanties in our area. Two days after my friend shared our situation on twitter on Sunday, authorities delivered a box full of essentials to us.
We have received 5 kg of flour, 3 kg rice, 1 kg dal, 2 kg sugar and around half a kg of tea powder. However, there was a shortage of boxes, so we were instructed to share the essentials with those who did not get any. I shared my supplies with my tenant, whose family is bigger than mine," Singh said.
The possibility of coronavirus spreading to chawls and slums has been one of the biggest worries of health experts. The small living spaces in such areas, along with shared amenities like bathrooms and toilets, make social distancing — the most important preventive measure against the virus —near impossible to enforce.
Koliwada, Adarsh Nagar and Jijamata Nagar in Worli, Mandanpura near Byculla, Dongri and Dharavi are some of the highly vulnerable areas. Hence the BMC and the Mumbai police have intensive their security and adopted an aggressive contact tracing process, thus inconveniencing the residents locked within these containment zones.
According to residents, the supply of essentials by the civic body and the NGOs have standardised packages for all. A family of 10 will get the same package as a family of five. Roshanjahan B, a resident of Dharavi, said, "Despite the efforts of the police and the BMC not all residents of Dharavi are adhering to lockdown norms.
They have no choice. But people on social media have left no stone unturned to demonise the people of Dharavi. So, no money, empty ration bins and crammed up in a 10 x 10 shanty like sardines in a can. Luckily, there are NGOs and local ward offices coming to our aid. But that's not enough. "
"Social distancing in slums is next to impossible. But we have no choice but to maintain a strict lockdown regime, so that they don't expose themselves to infection. Implementing of lockdown in containment zones has become more stringent as people were seen hanging around, risking theirs and their family's life.
We will help them with supply of ration as soon as we can. But there will be a little inconvenience, as whatever is happening is not normal. We are fighting a deadly pandemic," said Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner. Estimates of Mumbai’s ward-level population density confirm Worli and Prabhadevi to be a high-risk region.
The slum falls under the G (South) ward -- Elphinstone, Worli, Prabhadevi -- among the denser localities in the city. The densest in the city is Ward C (which includes Marine Lines, Chirabazar etc with a density of 91,991 people/sq km, followed by the G (North) ward (which includes Dharavi, Mahim) with a density of 66,190 people/sq km.
Some other hotspots in the city, based on ward-level population densities, are the southern wards -- D (Grant Road, Charni road) and E (Byculla), and suburban wards such as L (Kurla) and P/N (Malad), with population densities above 45,000 people per sq. km. These wards, too, account for a significant share of Mumbai’s covid-19 cases and are also home to several large slums such as Nagpada, Madanpura, Malvani and Orlem.
