MUMBAI: Dipesh Sahu is a native of Bihar and a die-hard Mumbaikar. A resident of Bhim Nagar in Malad's Kurar Village, he migrated to the city years ago and made a living in the imitation jewellery trade. When the pandemic struck, he had nothing to fall back on. He left in April for his hometown with five of his family members. Dipesh eventually returned a few days ago, but by then BMC's door-to-door surveys had listed his residence as a locked home. "My brother-in-law's family is yet to come back, their house is also locked like many others in the area," he told TOI.
According to BMC's data, Malad, Govandi and Ghatkopar have the highest proportion of such absent residents, mostly in the shanty settlements. BJP corporator from Malad (East) Vinod Mishra said, "there are many houses lying locked, many who left during the pandemic are yet to return. The safety of locked houses is a major concern."
Civic officials expect the missing inhabitants who include migrant workers to return after Diwali, raising the prospect of more crowding and a resurgence in infections. "This is the reason we cannot reduce healthcare facilities, people - and their families - returning to congested homes in slums will need to undergo quarantine in the Covid care centres,'' said a senior BMC official.
The first of the BMC door-to-door surveys, which started in September as part of the 'My Family My Responsibility' campaign, included 33 lakh houses, of which 6 lakh were found locked. "We covered over 1.1 crore people or 80% of the population in the first half of the campaign," said an official. The BMC deployed 5,000 teams, with each team visiting 50 homes daily to collect basic health details.
Of the 6 lakh locked homes, 3.7 lakh were considered 'temporarily' locked - neighbours told civic staff that occupants of these houses had left for an outstation destination a few days prior or were away at work. The remaining 2.3 lakh were considered 'permanently' locked as their occupants had not been seen for over three months.
Given an average household size of 4-5 members, the 'permanently' locked 2.3 lakh homes alone added up to close to a million people. Against BMC's estimate of an overall population of 1.41 crore in the city, up from the 2011 census figure of 1.24 crore, this number made up nearly 7% of the total population.
In the second round in October, health workers specifically visited locked houses over weekends and, with the help of local social workers or society residents, collected more details.
This time, the teams found residents of 1.6 lakh 'temporarily' locked houses had returned. However, barely 13,000 occupants of the 2.3 lakh permanently bolted houses had come back. In all, inmates of over 4.2 lakh homes, classified as 'temporarily' or 'permanently' locked, were still missing. Their population is expected to number approximately 18 lakh.
Most locked houses were in slum pockets that were Covid hotspots during the peak in May-June. For instance, many are in Appapada slum in P North (Malad) ward, one of the worst-affected areas in June. BMC chief I S Chahal had visited Appapada to encourage his staff to step up Covid-control measures in the area. The highest proportion of closed houses was found in this Malad ward which includes the Malvani sprawl.
Other areas which have such large number of absent households include Govandi and Ghatkopar.