Pune: Coronavirus in 20 PMR villages, now they are hotspots

PUNE: Twenty big villages under gram panchayats bordering Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad limits were declared as containment zones from Wednesday till further notice by Haveli sub-divisional officer Sachin Baravkar.

Prominent among these villages are Wagholi, Khadakwasla, Narhe, Manjri, Shewalewadi, Kirkatwadi, Pisoli, Uruli Kanchan, Loni Kalbhor, Nande, Kondhwe-Dhawade and Dehu.
Haveli, the largest among the 13 tehsils in Pune district, is also among the worst affected tehsils owing to its close proximity to Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. Since the outbreak, the tehsil has recorded 589 cases. Of these, 278 have been discharged, 10 have died and 301 are active cases. There has been a sudden spike in cases since June 8.
On Wednesday, Haveli tehsil recorded 63 nCoV positive cases. “On an average, 35 to 40 fresh cases have been recorded in the tehsil over the last fortnight. Most infections can be traced to travel history to Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad,” Baravkar said.
The tehsil has 90 gram panchayats of which the 20 are close to the civic limits and are seen as vulnerable.
“Working professionals and employees going from these villages to Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad for work, won’t be stopped, but the gram panchayat will have to maintain a record of such travellers and monitor their health. The talathis and gram sevaks have been empowered. Village-level vigilance committees will also help them,” Baravkar told TOI.
Milk, vegetable, fruits, essential goods stores and banks will operate from 10am to 2pm while ATMs will run round-the-clock, he said.
Industries and industrial establishments won’t be shut down if one or two nCoV positive case is reported. However, if a case is reported from among the staffers of such industrial unit, the authorities will have to put all workers through test, the order said.
“The containment measure will remain in place till it is ensured that active cases are reduced to five in each of the village,” Baravkar said.
Haveli’s block development officer Prashant Shirke said, “We will hold meetings with these gram panchayats and the police stations for effective implementation of the SDO’s order. Bigger gram panchayats like Wagholi have over 2 lakh population and a large number of cases. We will focus on such areas and make available adequate beds for patients in private hospitals too.”