A senior officer said, “We have decided to review the situation of the unaffected pockets next week. All senior officers including of the health department will review it. It is not advisable to open the entire colony all of a sudden.” (Representational)
A day after de-sealing of Sector 30B containment zone, people of containment area Bapu Dham Colony in Sector 26 demanded on Saturday that the entire containment zone, which has been divided into 20 pockets, be de-sealed. At least six pockets out of the 20 have already been opened. So far, COVID-19 patients have been reported in 10 pockets out of 14 pockets that remain sealed.
Several senior officers believe that if these four pockets are de-sealed, residents will soon come in contact with the people of the 10 affected pockets, increasing the chances of spread of the virus. However, residents the containment zone have given an ultimatum to the local administration that if the area is not de-sealed, they will go on a strike. Two days back, residents stopped receiving the supply of vegetables and essentials, forcing the administration and police to rush to the spot.
A senior officer said, “We have decided to review the situation of the unaffected pockets next week. All senior officers including of the health department will review it. It is not advisable to open the entire colony all of a sudden.”
Area councillor Dalip Sharma said, “We have decided to wait till June 8. If the containment tag is not removed from entire Bapu Dham Colony-26, we will sit on an indefinite hunger strike. The administration is opening hotels, restaurants, malls etc, but here thousands of people have been in hostage for almost two months. Administrative and health officials are not tackling the situation in the colony intelligently. They are only focusing on testing people, identifying patients. Recently, after people raised some concerns, they changed their strategy. Under pressure, the administration sent the migrants trapped in colony’s buffer zone to their native states.”
DSP (East) Dilsher Singh Chandel said, “There is resentment. Recently, residents refused to accept the essential services and came to the entry/exit points in protest. We pacified them.”
Meanwhile, many claim that people of the pockets, which were opened some days back, have lost their jobs despite the assurance of the UT Administration that their employers cannot take away their jobs.
Four residents of Bapu Dham Colony test positive
Chandigarh: Four residents of COVID-19 hotspot Bapu Dham Colony tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Saturday, taking the Chandigarh’s tally up to 313.
The four patients include a 32-year-old woman, a 33-year-old man, a 40-year-old man and a 5-year-old boy, all of whom are contacts of previously diagnosed persons.
There are now 35 active cases of COVID-19 in the city.
Five test positive in Panchkula
Five more people tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday.
While four of them hail from Pinjore of Panchkula and had recently returned from Mumbai, another is from Kalka who had returned from Kolkata.
They have been admitted to Civil Hospital in Panchkula. Their families have been tested and are in home quarantine. The containment process of the area has begun
The district tally now stands at 33, including two who tested positive in Ahmedabad and one who being is being treated at Faridabad. There are seven active cases at present.