COVID-19 in Mumbai: Zero cases in Dahisar slum in 15 days

Bharatiya Jain Sanghatna health workers check Dahisar residents' temperature using digital helmets. File pic

In some good news for Dahisar residents, the heavily populated Ganpat Patil Nagar area is slowly bouncing back to life after being under complete lockdown for months in view of the high number of COVID-19 cases reported from the region. As no new case was reported from the slum area over the past 15 days, the main New Link Road has been opened up. However, the slum continues to be under strict supervision and the residents will have to continue following Containment Zone regulations so that the situation remains under control.

'Camps, screenings helped'
Dahisar's slum pocket with over 10,000 households and a population of 50,000 was turning out to be a major hotspot with rapid increase in COVID-19 cases. But timely precautions, tests and screening helped contain the spread of the virus in the region.

Civic doctors and health workers check residents of Michalewadi in Kandarpada, Dahisar. Pic/Satej Shinde

Speaking to mid-day, Abhishek Ghosalkar, former corporator of the area (R/North ward), said, "Since the time the first case was detected in the area towards the end of April, we have been taking steps to ensure that the infection is under control. We have managed to do it through door-to-door screenings and medical camps. All the 13 lanes of the slum were regularly sanitised. It was also one of the first few slums in Mumbai where sero-survey was conducted. Even the slum residents have cooperated a lot. Some of them joined the civic teams as volunteers to help in their efforts." He added that the medical camps, door-to-door check-ups and thermal screening would continue in the area.

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One of the volunteers, Parvin Mishra, 27, who helped the civic body, said, "Initially we faced certain difficulties as the residents were not cooperating. They had certain inhibitions. But soon they realised the importance of following the rules and regulations. Our volunteers conducted door-to-door screening along with the civic officials."

Abhishek Ghosalkar, former corporator of R/North ward and Akhilesh Singh, resident

Developing trust
Adding to this, another volunteer, Akhilesh Singh, 36, who has been living in Ganpat Patil Nagar for over 25 years, said, "We were a team of around 50 youngsters who volunteered to ensure that the administration's efforts did not go in vain because initially the locals had certain trust issues. We tried to answer their queries to develop the trust."

Speaking about the current situation of the area, ward officer Sandhya Nandedkar said, "The area is not yet out of the Containment Zone list, but the main road has been opened up. There was a time when each day at least five to six COVID-19 cases were reported from the area. Identifying symptomatic patients through medical surveys and door-to-door screening has really helped. The area is not completely out of danger and so our efforts will continue."

13
No. of lanes the Dahisar slum has

50k
Total population of the slum

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