Coronavirus outbreak: BMC to acquire private buildings for quarantining

Streets of Lower Parel are empty amid the lockdown. Pic/Atul Kamble

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is all set to acquire rooms in private buildings, hotels, cruise, and marriage halls for quarantine purposes.

The municipal commissioner has empowered ward officers to acquire vacant rooms in their jurisdictions. Food and basic arrangements in these places will be provided by the BMC.

The number of COVID-19 positive patients are on the rise in the city and hence the requirement for quarantine facilities has also gone up.

The BMC has identified 146 containment zones (areas where patients were earlier found) on Monday and Tuesday, many of which are slum pockets.

Therefore, BMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi had a video-meeting with all the officers and corporators instructing them to acquire vacant rooms.

Assistant commissioners of wards have been authorised to obtain empty residential buildings, lodges, hotels, dharmashalas, clubs, exhibition centres, colleges, hostels, dormitories, residential cruises, ships, marriage halls, gymkhanas and banquet halls with immediate effect.

These will be used for quarantining people who were in contact with a COVID-19 patient and are not symptomatic yet. The BMC will provide food and basic

The commissioner will issue separate orders for payment to the owners of these places. Anyone opposing the move will face action under Section 188 (disobeying an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the IPC and face imprisonment up to six months, or fine, or both.

Pardeshi said high-risk and low-risk people who came in contact with the patients are living in small houses and using common sanitation facilities, thereby making themselves vulnerable and so the need to be shift them.

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