BMC will operate jumbo centres even after December

The Kanjurmarg jumbo COVID centre at Kanjurmarg East on October 10. PIC/Anurag Ahire

Despite the Coronavirus situation being in control in Mumbai, the BMC will keep a few of its jumbo COVID centres operational even after December. Of the nine facilities that had been set up to handle the surge of patients, the ones at Malad, BKC and Kanjurmarg will be kept as standby and the future of others will be decided on the basis of structure stability and COVID situation.

Amid the second wave, the BMC had increased the beds at the jumbo centres from 7,500 to 15,000 by adding three new centres and upgrading the old ones. To the relief of citizens and civic officials, the COVID numbers haven't gone up after Diwali. Of the over 10,000 ready beds, barely 100 are occupied at present.

The MMRDA-built jumbo facility at Malad West. File pic/Suresh Karkera

For better utilisation of resources, the civic body has asked its officials to gradually transfer equipment from the jumbo centres to civic-run hospitals in the suburbs. The NESCO centre is the first on the list, and its Phase-II facility will be closed in the next few days.

Officials said the new centres - MMRDA-built facility with 2,160 beds at Malad, CIDCO-built centre at Kanjurmarg with 2,000 beds and the 2,316-bed BKC centre - are not functional now and will be on standby mode in the new year. The Malad and Kanjurmarg facilities came up in June and September respectively and have new equipment, said officials.

"The Dahisar centre was closed after the storm [Tauktae]. NESCO phase-II is going to close soon. So, the Malad centre will be kept on standby to cater to the population in western suburbs. Likewise, Kanjurmarg will be kept on standby as a precaution," said a BMC official.

There are very few patients at NSCI Worli, BKC, NESCO, Mulund and Byculla centres. Along with these five jumbo centres, four more centres have been kept in reserve. The centre in Sion with around 1,200 beds is still not completed.

"Currently, five centres are activated and based on the number of cases in December, we will decide to close them partially. Likewise, centres like Dahisar and BKC are on open grounds and the decision will be taken on the basis of structural strength," said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, BMC.