PUNE: Nearly 97% of the Pune metropolitan area is no longer a containment zone though the entire city remains a red zone, with reliefs announced by the state and central governments to be applicable from Monday.
This means barely 3% or 9.93sq km of the total 331.26sq km of the Pune municipal corporation area is now a containment zone while 2.9% or 5.25sq km of the total 181sq km jurisdiction of areas under the Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporation limits have been demarcated as containment zones as per orders issued by the two municipal commissioners..
A day after holding firm on its stand not to relax restrictions in Mumbai and Pune, the state government on Sunday allowed standalone and neighbourhood shops for non-essential items, including liquor, to reopen across the state. Accordingly, five non-essential shops can operate per lane. The concession applies even in the red zone areas of the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR), Pune district and Malegaon township, though not in containment zones.
Late on Sunday night, the Pune police passed a fresh order extending the curfew under section 144(3)(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure across the city till midnight of May 17. However, the order issued by joint commissioner of police Ravindra Shisve categorically states that barring the 3% containment areas, the curfew will not be applicable for activities such as construction, pre-monsoon and metro works, and the operation of five non-essential shops per lane, among other activities allowed under the red zone guidelines of the state government.Both the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the police have come up with certain modifications in the restrictions (see box) related to the containment and the non-containment zones where shops selling essentials like milk, dairy products, vegetable, fruits, chicken, mutton and grocery will be allowed to operate from 10am to 2pm and from 10am to 6pm respectively.
Besides five non-essential shops per lane, standalone shops in residential societies, essential services in shopping malls, e-commerce and in-situ constructions — sites where workers are already residing and are not required to be brought in from outside — will commence operation from Monday. No movement of individuals or vehicles will be allowed after 7pm till 7am.
Citizens above age 65 years, high-risk individuals — those suffering from diabetes, high BP, asthama, liver and kidney ailment, cancer and HIV; pregnant women and children aged below 10 will not be allowed to step out of their homes in both Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, unless there is an emergency or medical requirement.
However, there was ambiguity over the provision of allowing only five shops selling non-essential items to remain open per lane.
The reduction in the containment zone area is a major change from April 20 when the entire Pune city was declared a containment zone, all entry/exits were sealed and curfew was imposed across the PMC limits till midnight of May 3.
Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad’s order on Sunday restricts the containment zone to specific locations — referred to as “micro containment zones” — that remain severely affected by Covid-19. The PMC has declared 69 locations as micro containment zones where entry and exit points will remain sealed and stricter restrictions will apply.
Gaikwad said, “PMC has taken effort to make sure that the spread of virus is controlled. Due to our efforts, the high risk area has been confined to only around 3% of the city now. This reduction will bring down the undue load on civic infrastructure and government authorities.”
In the neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation (PCMC), which is part of the Pune Metropolitan Region that covers 7.5million population, the number of containment zones has gone up from 16 to 21 but remains 2.9% in terms of area.
From March 11, when the first positive case was reported, till Sunday, May 3, Pimpri Chinchwad has recorded 121 Covid-19 positive cases.
Pimpri Chinchwad municipal commissioner Shravan Hardikar told TOI, “We have already reduced the doubling rate on infection in the city till now. We expect it to further reduce during the extended lockdown period. People should keep following social distancing and hygiene in public places. We will create new containment zones if anywhere there is increase in number of Covid-19 positive patients.”
This means barely 3% or 9.93sq km of the total 331.26sq km of the Pune municipal corporation area is now a containment zone while 2.9% or 5.25sq km of the total 181sq km jurisdiction of areas under the Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporation limits have been demarcated as containment zones as per orders issued by the two municipal commissioners..
A day after holding firm on its stand not to relax restrictions in Mumbai and Pune, the state government on Sunday allowed standalone and neighbourhood shops for non-essential items, including liquor, to reopen across the state. Accordingly, five non-essential shops can operate per lane. The concession applies even in the red zone areas of the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR), Pune district and Malegaon township, though not in containment zones.
Late on Sunday night, the Pune police passed a fresh order extending the curfew under section 144(3)(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure across the city till midnight of May 17. However, the order issued by joint commissioner of police Ravindra Shisve categorically states that barring the 3% containment areas, the curfew will not be applicable for activities such as construction, pre-monsoon and metro works, and the operation of five non-essential shops per lane, among other activities allowed under the red zone guidelines of the state government.Both the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the police have come up with certain modifications in the restrictions (see box) related to the containment and the non-containment zones where shops selling essentials like milk, dairy products, vegetable, fruits, chicken, mutton and grocery will be allowed to operate from 10am to 2pm and from 10am to 6pm respectively.
Besides five non-essential shops per lane, standalone shops in residential societies, essential services in shopping malls, e-commerce and in-situ constructions — sites where workers are already residing and are not required to be brought in from outside — will commence operation from Monday. No movement of individuals or vehicles will be allowed after 7pm till 7am.
Citizens above age 65 years, high-risk individuals — those suffering from diabetes, high BP, asthama, liver and kidney ailment, cancer and HIV; pregnant women and children aged below 10 will not be allowed to step out of their homes in both Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, unless there is an emergency or medical requirement.
However, there was ambiguity over the provision of allowing only five shops selling non-essential items to remain open per lane.
The reduction in the containment zone area is a major change from April 20 when the entire Pune city was declared a containment zone, all entry/exits were sealed and curfew was imposed across the PMC limits till midnight of May 3.
Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad’s order on Sunday restricts the containment zone to specific locations — referred to as “micro containment zones” — that remain severely affected by Covid-19. The PMC has declared 69 locations as micro containment zones where entry and exit points will remain sealed and stricter restrictions will apply.
Gaikwad said, “PMC has taken effort to make sure that the spread of virus is controlled. Due to our efforts, the high risk area has been confined to only around 3% of the city now. This reduction will bring down the undue load on civic infrastructure and government authorities.”
In the neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation (PCMC), which is part of the Pune Metropolitan Region that covers 7.5million population, the number of containment zones has gone up from 16 to 21 but remains 2.9% in terms of area.
From March 11, when the first positive case was reported, till Sunday, May 3, Pimpri Chinchwad has recorded 121 Covid-19 positive cases.
Pimpri Chinchwad municipal commissioner Shravan Hardikar told TOI, “We have already reduced the doubling rate on infection in the city till now. We expect it to further reduce during the extended lockdown period. People should keep following social distancing and hygiene in public places. We will create new containment zones if anywhere there is increase in number of Covid-19 positive patients.”
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