At Nagalwadi, no one can enter or exit sans valid reason

Soumitra Bose | TNN | Apr 7, 2020, 04:57 IST

SLUG: Lessons to take
Nagpur: Saoner taluka’s Nagalwadi village, around 65km from the city, might provide a lesson to many urban localities in the pattern of protecting their residential area from the spread of Covid-19 infection.
The village, with a population of 600-650 people, has strictly made the place a ‘no entry’ zone for outsiders. They cannot enter the village without giving genuine reasons.
Following the national lockdown, the residents of Nagalwadi decided among themselves that they would need to take special precaution to ensure that the virus does not enter their village. It was a spontaneous decision to disallow outsiders and stop them outside Nagalwadi.
Harish Morghare, president of vana samiti or forest committee and also a local grocer, said there was no instruction from any government officials or police to take any extra precautionary measure apart from being at home during the lockdown and stepping out only for exempted reasons.
“The villagers erected a makeshift bamboo check post on the road at the entry point of the village where a couple of youths are manning the place to stop entries or exit without valid reason. We do not want our village to get affected at any cost or at least try as much as possible to break the chain here,” he said.
“The gate is manned from 7am till 11pm. Villagers from four adjoining hamlets too come here for daily needs but their entries have been put under restrictions,” said Morghare, adding that some of the more aware villagers are also guiding their fellow residents regarding precautionary measures of wearing masks and personal hygiene. “We are short of sanitizers. So, we use soap water to clean ourselves repeatedly,” he said.
Morghare said access to the village is being strictly regulated. “We are not allowing villagers to leave the place until he or she specifies the reason and it appears valid. The register kept at the check-point has details of every person entering or leaving the village,” he said.
“Mobile phone number, registration number of the vehicle, reason for entering or leaving and place visited are being recorded so that in case there is any issue later, we can immediately trace the person concerned,” he added.
Senior counsel Prashant Sathianathan, who owns lands near Nagalwadi and is living nearby since lockdown, appreciated self-reservation of the villagers in deciding to control access to their village. “Rest of the country should take a lesson from Nagalwadi. The pattern followed here is a classic example of how people are using indigenous methods to protect themselves without being prompted,” he said.