It has been over a year since covid came into being and the slum colonies in South Mumbai especially the Fisherman’s Colony in Cuffe Parade has been bereft of any examination camp for their general health.
On February 21, 2021, The Rotary Club of Mumbai had organised a healthcare camp. The genesis of the camp was to address the slum colonies which have been rife with covid and its side effects which even with minimal infection, high steroid usage has a tendency to enhance blood pressure, diabetes and even Glaucoma.
Permission from the authorities was given for the camp taking into account that at no time would there be more than 50 people accumulating, and that social distancing, both for standees as well as during the examination was to be observed at all points.
The Rotary concentrated on the slum colonies of South Mumbai, Geeta Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Ganesh Murthy Nagar, the Fisherman's Colony and the Badhwar Nagar Colony.
As a publicity source, fliers were distributed thrice at 2-day intervals in the areas selected and large banners were put up in Marathi/Hindi being the local dialect in the camp zone.
To prevent a sudden upsurge of the crowd which would invite the wrath of the Municipal corporation and even the police, each camp zone was allotted a 90-minute interval appointment. The population was exhorted to register their names in advance to prevent any waiting.
At the camp zone, large circles were drawn at 4 feet distance so the patients could stand between and prevent and close proximity.
The camp was inaugurated with a short video from the District Governor of District 3141 Rtn. Sunnil Mehra, Shri Makarand Narvekar the local MLA and the Commissioner of the Municipal corporation Award, Ms Chanda Jadav.
Both the eminent speakers spoke glowingly of the fact that this was the first health-based camp in South Mumbai catering to the healthcare needs of the populace since the outset of covid. They thanked and appreciated the Rotary Clubs not only for this camp, but also for the help rendered to the above colonies during covid time (Rotary had distributed 24 large sprayer units and gave 150 large packages of food grains and essential supplies during the covid-19 lockdown).
The camp was conducted by Rotary Club of Mumbai South as the lead club with Rotary Clubs of Mumbai Cuffe Parade, Bombay Hanging Garden, Bombay Pier, Mumbai Downtown and Mumbai Parleshwar joining as co-hosts and well attended by their respective Presidents and members.
