Nashik: Containment zones up from 33 to 74 in 8 days

NASHIK: The number of containment zones in Malegaon has more than doubled in just eight days — from 33 containment zones on April 28 to 74 on Wednesday — making the fight against the Covid-19 more challenging for the administration.
So far, as many as 430 people from the textile town have tested positive for the coronavirus. Of them, 14 have succumbed, while 20 patients have recovered.
Talking about the current situation, Malegaon Municipal Corporation’s (MMC) new commissioner Deepak Kasar said, “Most of the containment zones are spread in a radius of around 2.5 sqkm in Malegaon with a population of over 2 lakh. Our focus is on preventing the spread of the infection in these containment zones."
Kasar took over as the new MMC chief few days ago as the state government was unhappy with how the things were being handled by his predecessor. The government is also of the view that the civic body plays an important role in preventing the spread of the virus.
Within few days of taking charge Kasar cracked whip on some outsourced staff of the MMC by lodging police cases against them for not reporting to work.
On Thursday, Kasar briefed the elected MMC representatives, including mayor Tahira Sheikh and deputy mayor Nilesh Aher, about various steps being taken by the civic body to contain the spread of Covid-19.
“He has sought our help in identifying a big building in eastern part of the city where a Covid-19 hospital could be established,” Aher said.
According to the deputy mayor, several doctors and nurses from other talukas of the district like Igatpuri, Kalwan and others have been deployed in Malegaon to treat Covid-19 patients in Malegaon.
“Kasar told us that he is ensuring that no employee of MMC shirks work at this critical juncture and he has sought the help of elected representatives from all parties,” said Aher, adding that the elected representatives have assured him of their support.