Mumbai: 1 in 3 containment zones is in Bhandup

Banners declaring the area a containment zone in Bhandup. File pics

Ninety per cent of the existing COVID-19 cases across the city have been reported from high-rises, while only 10 per cent are from slums, the civic body's records show. However, Bhandup's proportion of infections in slum areas is higher than that of the city's. Mumbai's 27 slum areas have been declared containment zones, and nearly one-third of them are in S ward that comprises Bhandup and Vikhroli. And Bhandup accounts for most of them.

Of the 27 slum areas with a population of 1.79 lakh declared containment zones (CZ) across Mumbai, 10 are in S ward. Five are in K East consisting of Jogeshwari, Andheri and Vile Parle, and rest are in nine other wards that have one or two CZs each. In S ward, Bhandup accounts for most of the CZs.

Eighty per cent of the population in S ward stays in chawls and slums. Civic officials from S ward said the slum pockets reporting even a single case have been sealed as a precautionary measure. As the cases started to surge in the city and high-rises and residential buildings reported the most of them, fixed rules were issued to seal them. However, no specific instructions were given for chawls and slums.

A hawker sits outside closed shops in Bhandup. File pic/Datta Kumbhar

"There are many chawls and slums in Bhandup. Twenty per cent of cases are coming from slums, whereas 80 per cent are from buildings. We declare some pockets as CZ as a precaution even though they don't have many cases," said Dr Vilas Mohokar, medical health officer of S ward. He added that just like in buildings, slums, too, are now reporting more and more cases among high-risk contacts within the same family.

In S ward, most of the CZs are in Bhandup West - Tembhi pada, Tulshet pada, Kokan Nagar, Pratap Nagar, Jangal Mangal road. Other CZs are at Tagore Nagar and Panchsheel Chawl in Vikhroli, and in Kanjur Village. Bhandup has 26 fully and eight partially sealed buildings, lower than other wards.

Even in P North ward (Malad) and L ward (Kurla), the maximum area is covered by slums. However, unlike Bhandup, the trends are different here. There are three CZs in Kurla and none in Malad.

In the past two weeks, around 228 buildings have been sealed entirely while one or more floors in 2,185 buildings have been shut off to curb the transmission of Coronavirus. Around 6 lakh people
reside inside these sealed buildings, according to the BMC's data.

10
No. of CZs in S ward comprising Bhandup, Vikhroli

20%
Proportion of cases in Bhandup coming from slums

1.79L
No. of people in containment zones in city's slums

80%
Proportion of cases in Bhandup coming from high-rises