Though there is the fear of cases rising once again after the unlock move, civic officials say the worst is over for the slums between Juhu and Andheri at the moment
Civic officials say mass screening has also helped a lot in flattening the curve in areas like Juhu Galli and Juhu Koliwada. Pics/Sameer Markande
Since the BMC sealed seven slum pockets in K West ward almost a month ago, the area has not seen a major spike in cases, which points towards a flattening of the COVID-19 curve. Though very few cases have been reported in most of these pockets over the past two weeks, civic officials fear the opening up of the city might undo the efforts.
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Earlier, the civic body used to seal small portions of slums, about 50 to 100 houses, but as cases continued to increase, for better management and as per the recommendations of the central team, ward offices started to seal whole slums. A month ago, BMC had closed the entrance to the K West ward and also the small lanes in the area — Nehru Nagar, Versova, Anand Nagar, Gaondevi Dongri, Gilbert Hill, Juhu Galli and Juhu Koliwada — which has a total population of 2 lakh.
Speaking to mid-day, assistant commissioner of K West ward, Vishwas Mote said, "The impact can be seen from the cumulative number of cases. It has not increased much. But with the reopening of the city, movement has started in these areas, which cannot be controlled completely. Hence, we are observing the curve closely now."
A month ago, BMC had closed the entrance to the K West ward and also the small lanes in the area
As per information provided by K West ward, some of the areas are on the path of recovery while Versova Village hasn-t shown the desired results. Nehru Nagar reported 57 cases till May 25 and since then only 10 cases have increased. In the same time span, only 11 cases have been reported from Gilbert Hill and nine from Gaondevi Dongri. In Anand Nagar, the number of cases increased from 70 to 76. However, Versova Village had recorded 65 cases till May 25. Over the next week 33 cases increased and by June 11 the tally had increased by another 48 cases.
"In our area, the rise in cases has been controlled but it-s very hard to keep people inside their small rooms for months. As the city reopened, many activities started in this area as well," said Prashant Aayre from Gaondevi Dongri area.
Mote further said that mass screening had helped a lot to flatten the curve in the ward. Earlier, on an average, BMC teams used to screen 150 to 200 people daily. But with help from NGO Niramaya Foundation, five teams of doctors and volunteers started screening 700 to 800 people daily. "We have screened more than 50,000 people. It helped in detecting cases early and checking the spread of the virus," he said.
Juhu Koliwada, which had only eight cases at the time when the area was sealed, now has 22, of which five were reported in the last week. "Earlier, civic officials and the police were keeping a close watch on the area but since Unlock 1 started, they stopped coming. While the gullies are still sealed, residents now demand they be opened up," said local corporator Anish Makwani.
In Juhu Galli, 171 cases were reported till May 25, but since then only five cases have been reported till now. However, local corporator of Juhu Galli, Meher Mohsin Haidar, said, "All slum pockets are inter-connected and the BMC can-t point at some of the parts and say that the infection is under control in the area. But now as many residents have returned from hospitals after being discharged, people are less scared."
2 lakh
No. of people in sealed areas
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