Police colonies in Worli and Marol have already been declared containment zones and 12 other police colonies are under the scanner
Medical staff and doctors getting ready with PPE kits as two more COVID-19 suspected patients were found inside the containment area of Jija Mata Nagar, Worli, on Monday. Pics/Suresh Karkera
Days after policemen pleaded with the administration to provide them with alternative accommodation so that they do not endanger their families, a building in police colony in the city was sealed on Sunday evening. With a constable serving at the Bangur Nagar police station testing positive, authorities cordoned off a building in the city's largest police colony in Naigaon, which houses the families of 10,000 personnel.
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Police colonies in Worli and Marol have already been declared containment zones and 12 other police colonies are under the scanner.
Of these, eight house police constables and four are officers' quarters.
All policemen who had come in contact with the Naigaon constable have been kept in isolation wards and will be tested soon. He was having trouble breathing after which he was tested.
As soon as his reports were released, the BMC and police personnel reached the building where he lived and sealed the premises.
Shaktiprasad Thorat, senior police inspector of Local Arms, has issued an order appointing two assistant police inspectors and four constables to ensure that people living in that building get all necessary supplies at home.
The police, seen here at Shivaji Nagar, Govandi, have had to use force against those not complying with the social distancing rules, in the process exposing themselves to contracting the deadly infection. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Earlier, a Corona positive PSI was found at Kurar police station, after which a building in Borivli was sealed too.
Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Prannoy Ashok told mid-day that a guideline has been issued to all police colonies regarding strictly staying at home. "We are spraying pesticides at all places and trying to ensure home delivery of essential goods at the police colonies. We have formed a team in Naigaon to deliver essential commodities too," he added.
Police personnel, however, continue to worry for their families. A female police officer told mid-day, "This is our duty and we do it with all sincerity, but when we go home, we are afraid that our families might face problems because of us."
Another officer said, "My posting is in a slum area where the population is denser and we stop every person stepping out of the house. There is no way of knowing if someone is Corona positive."
Some rly policemen tested, too
A 51-year-old police constable, who was posted to Railway Police at CSMT station, was also recently found to be Coronavirus positive. Around 25 policemen were tested after this and were found to be negative but have been kept in isolation wards.
10,000
No. of families in Naigaon police colony
Three
Total no. of police colonies in city sealed so far
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