Maharashtra\'s new covid epicentre: Pune beats Mumbai with 3\,000 cases a day

Mumbai: The Covid epicentre in Maharashtra has shifted from Mumbai to Pune, with the latter recording 3,000-odd cases on July 19, compared to Mumbai, which is stabilising at around 1,200 cases a day. Even as multiple chains of command and a floating population are being blamed for this sudden increase in cases in Pune, deputy CM Ajit Pawar has threatened transfer of officials if they do not tackle the crisis.

The government has roped in Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal to give tips on how to control the pandemic as cases touch 3,000 a day –– a figure which even Mumbai had not seen even at the height of the pandemic in April.

Government officials in Pune and in Mumbai told ET that a combination of factors –– from multiple chains of command to a lack of seriousness –– has led to the current situation. “There are multiple chains of command. We have the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), the cantonment areas and the gram panchayats.

All of these bodies have been making their own rules vis-avis enforcing lockdowns, containment etc....,” explained a government official.