Mumbai: Resident associations warn people against negligence as Covid-19 cases see a dip

Cops request joggers and cyclers against using Lokhandwala back road area. Pics/Ashish Rane

In the first week of June, the number of active cases in K/W during the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic had dropped from around 900 cases per day to just 98. Although local municipal authorities had credited the lockdown for this drastic drop in cases at the time, the neighbourhood's residents' association warns that widespread negligent behaviour could once again lead to a dire situation.

The weekly market at Millat Nagar is an issue of concern for Lokhandwala

Karan Jotwani, co-founder of the Lokhandwala-Oshiwara Citizens' Association (LOCA), said that there have been a few cases where people have behaved irresponsibly. "The morning crowds are more of fitness enthusiast like runners and cyclists, as well as regular folks who step out to exercise or to simply buy groceries. However, there are also those who meet up for breakfast and who violate protocol by congregating without masks on the road."

There are two major concerns in the Lokhandwala-Oshiwara belt, according to LOCA. The first is the low number of vaccinations being carried out by vaccination centres in the ward, while the second is the presence of "super-spreader" events like weekly markets. "A major danger to the neighbourhood is the low volume of vaccination numbers in BMC drives," said Jotwani. "K-West stretches from Jogeshwari to Juhu and it is one of the biggest neighbourhoods - both in terms of density as well as area. We have around 19 vaccination centre's administering around 100 jabs a day, which roughly equals 2,000 jabs per day. However, our population in the ward is around 20 lakh. The vaccination needs to be scaled up at least 10 times in order to crush the upcoming third wave."

Dhaval Shah, another co-founder of LOCA, said: "The running and jogging didn't stop on back road despite an awareness campaign being carried out by Oshiwara police as well as putting up a banner to dissuade people." He added: "The weekly market between Millat Nagar and Yamuna Nagar that takes place every Tuesday is dangerous as the crowds here are dense, and the area is packed with locals and hawkers. Physical distancing isn't possible with four layers of hawkers being present, which also prevents vehicles from passing by."