“We were against allowing industrial units to operate during the lockdown period as several positive cases have been found in some of them,” said the PCMC chief.

Even as the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Monday eased some of the strict restrictions for industrial units, the civic administration decided to allow industrial workers to use two-wheelers to commute to their workplaces. The district collectorate also appealed to industries to extend their cooperation in tackling the pandemic.

“…Today, we have revised our lockdown guidelines and allowed workers to use two-wheelers to their workplaces… industrial units will have to issue passes to workers, in the format provided by us,” Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar told The Indian Express.

“We were against allowing industrial units to operate during the lockdown period as several positive cases have been found in some of them. But now that we have allowed them to operate, each industrial unit will have to take the responsibility of ensuring that social distancing norms are strictly followed within their premises. We desperately need their cooperation and help as the number of cases recorded within their premises has seen a sudden spurt,” said the PCMC chief.

PCMC Assistant Municipal Commissioner Anna Bodade said the civic body has shut down two industrial units after several Covid-19 cases were reported. In one industrial unit, of the 29 employees, 23 were found positive and in another, of the 100 employees, 14 were found positive. “In nearly 15 industrial units, we had to shut down some of their departments after one or two cases were found,” said Bodade.

The PCMC administration said it has spoken to industrial bodies like MCCIA and others and urged them to take necessary steps to help control the spread of the virus.

Stating that they have resolved the issues vis-a-vis passes and two-wheeler use, District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said,”…We are aware of the plight of workers and need for industrial units to remain open. At the same time, we expect that industries will make all-out efforts to ensure that cases within their premises do not rise. The responsibility will have to be taken up by each and every industrial unit…”.

Sandeep Belsare, president of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Small Scale Industries Association, said, “It is true that some of the industrial units have been behaving irresponsibly and not taking adequate precautions. It is also true that several cases have been found within the premises of some industrial units. However, we have been communicating with industrial units about controlling Covid-19 spread within their premises. We will step up our efforts.”

H P Srivastava, vice-president of Deccan Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Association said,”There was a lot of confusion after lockdown orders were issued by civic bodies. But it is heartening to know that they have reacted quickly and taken corrective steps. Industries are ever ready to help the administration but they should also not complicate matters… in the recent past, there have been several instances when contradictory orders have been issued by officials.”