Pune slum fights COVID-19 with self-discipline, awareness

Pune, May 15 () Even as several congested areas inMaharashtra's Pune city turned into COVID-19 hotspots, slumpocket of Janata Vasahat has managed to fight the virus withcoordinated efforts of its residents and authorities.

Situated along Sinhgad Road, Janata Vasahat is spreadover 2 to 3 km area and has a total population of 60,000.

The locality has only reported two cases of COVID-19so far, and the Pune Municipal Corporation plans to keep itthat way.

Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad attributedthe success of controlling the spread to containment measuresundertaken by the civic body and the geographical location ofthe slum.

"Nestled between a hillock called Parvati and a waterbody off Sinhgad Road, Janata Vasahat only has one entry andexit point, restricting people's movement in the area," thesenior official said.

A couple of doctors from the civic body were active inthe area and were working tirelessly to detect personssuffering from mild symptoms of COVID-19, he said.

"So early detection and tracking are crucial to thesuccess we have achieved in this locality," he added.

The coordinated efforts of youth volunteers,corporators and the police in ensuring social distancing hadalso paid off, Gaikwad said.

When coronavirus cases started emerging from slums inPune, the local police in Janata Vasahat tightened vigilanceand started creating awareness as well.

Self-discipline exercised by residents of the localityalong with coordination among the local groups, police andcivic staff had kept the situation under control, said seniorinspector Devidas Gheware of Datta Wadi police station in thelocality.

Zonal medical officer of the locality Dr DeepakPakhale said door-to-door survey, tracing of symptomaticpatients, monitoring senior citizens suffering from comorbidconditions, distributing masks and sanitisers had helped keepJanata Vasahat safe from the pandemic. SPKARU ARU