Pune: Area near Alandi temple is a micro containment zone

PUNE: The Alandi Municipal Council (AMC) on Thursday declared a locality in the vicinity of the Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj temple as a micro containment zone after a 42-year-old woman succumbed to Covid-19 on Monday.
A total of 80 residents of the locality have been home quarantined for the next two weeks.
The locality was sealed two days before the annual 'palkhi' procession of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj . The 'padukas' of the saint will be taken to the Haibat Baba temple in the town on Saturday as per tradition.
Samir Bhumkar, the AMC chief officer, said, "The deceased woman, a homemaker with limited contacts in the locality, was taking her husband to the Sassoon hospital in Pune everyday for dialysis. She may have got infected at the hospital."
Bhumkar said the AMC had collected the swab samples of eight of the woman's family members on Wednesday and they all tested negative. "The test results of 10 low contact residents are yet to be received," he said.
Bhumkar said that keeping the procession in mind, they had sealed the area by barricading each lane. "We have deployed volunteers 24x7 to provide essential items and services. We have disinfected the locality around the temple. Other measures such as social distancing, wearing masks, use of sanitisers are in place."
Pimpri Chinchwad's deputy commissioner of police Smita Patil said, "All dharamshalas, lodges and hotes are closed in Alandi. We have urged people to not visit temples or join the 'palkhi' procession, which will be a low-key affair this year as per government order. Virtual 'darshan' of the procession will be facilitated by the temple trust."
The police and the AMC officials deployed their personnel and staff at the adjacent lanes to restrict people from visiting the temple premises.