Can NMC conduct 80k tests a day for shopkeepers, asks mayor

Nagpur: Mayor Sandip Joshi on Thursday slammed the August 18 deadline set by municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe for testing all shopkeepers and their staff for Covid-19 (regular or antigen). “The order should be withdrawn immediately,” he said.
Speaking to media persons, Joshi said that conducting Covid-19 test for lakhs of traders and their staff in just six days is an impossible task. “Mundhe is taking very impractical decisions for the city in the context of Covid-19 and we are accused of politicizing the issues on opposing them,” said Joshi.
According to the mayor, the decision taken by Mundhe was not based on facts. “There are four traders’ associations in the city. According to them, there are 50,000 traders with about five lakh employees in the city,” he said.
“All pathology laboratories in the city together are conducting about 3,000 Covid-19 tests per day. Is it possible to test about five lakh traders and their employees in just six days. Is the administration ready to conduct 80,000 tests daily for six days? Moreover, August 15 is a holiday,” said the mayor.
Joshi said the traders will have to bear charges for Covid-19 tests, as per Mundhe’s instructions. “This means the traders and their employees in the city will spend a total of Rs85 crore,” he said and added, “Can anyone guarantee that if a trader tests negative today he will not test positive tomorrow?”
The mayor warned that if required he will take to the streets along with the citizens to oppose the move. He said the commissioner should first make arrangements for citizens and then impose any decisions like conducting tests for traders.
A delegation of shopkeepers also met the mayor and appealed to him to look their demands including revoking the odd-even day formula in commercial areas. The mayor expressed anguish against Mundhe “for not implementing the July 31 meeting decision to allow shops on over 12-mt wide roads like Central Avenue to open on all days”.
“The people of Nagpur also need to discipline themselves. But lockdown is not the solution,” said the mayor.