Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has felicitated Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) chief, Dilip Dhole for his exemplary contribution in fighting the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the second wave.
The felicitation ceremony was organized at Raj Bhavan on Friday. Apart from a certificate of appreciation, the civic chief received a cheque amounting to Rs 50,000 which according to him will be utilized to fund the education of underprivileged children who had lost their parents due to COVID-19.
Less than a month after taking charge as MBMC commissioner on March 3 2021, Dhole was faced with the daunting task of containing the second wave of the deadly pandemic which had hit the twin city in April.
Ward level war rooms, centralized bed allotment, enhanced oxygen supply, ramping up testing and healthcare facilities- the civic chief put in place a slew of systems to flatten the COVID curve. In addition to this, the civic administration in association with the police effectively imposed lockdown regulations supported by a mechanism to ensure proper compliance of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour.
To minimize stress and anxiety in patients, Dhole also introduced music therapy and other additional features including counselling and yoga sessions at all COVID care centres and institutional quarantine units in the twin city. Notably, the civic and police administration collected more than Rs. 86 lakh as fine from those found to be violating norms including- not wearing masks and failure, defying physical distancing rules.
While active cases are limited to 195, the recovery rate hovers above 97 percent. Thanks to a sharp downward trend in the number of fresh COVID-19 detections supported by a significant increase in the number of recoveries, the MBMC has resumed non-COVID treatment facilities at the Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Civil (Tembha) Hospital in Bhayandar.
