Out of 1,500 cases as of Thursday, more than 800 are from slums. (File)

EVEN AS the number of Covid-19 positive cases in Pimpri-Chinchwad reached 1,500 on Thursday, the civic administration finding it difficult to implement its containment plan in slum pockets. It is difficult to implement distancing norms in these areas as they are congested.

Out of 1,500 cases as of Thursday, more than 800 are from slums. Of the 26 deaths in Pimpri-Chinchwad area so far, 11 are those of residents of slum pockets.

Dapodi area, however, does not have many positive cases as compared to Anandnagar slum, which has 270 positive cases. This is the highest number among all slums. There has only been one death in slum pockets.

“If cases do not rise further, we can think of relaxations. Though in the last two to three days, there have been no positive cases, we will still have to wait for 10 more days, before we can think of giving relaxation in the slum pocket,” said Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar said.

Hardikar said they were closely monitoring slums and had taken several steps to spread awareness among them. “The situation in slums is under control. We hope to see an improvement in next few days,” he said.