GHMC takes things easy on the Covid-19 front

HYDERABAD: Complaints are widespread that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is not ensuring the safety of both the Covid19 patients and the residents living in their vicinity. After the high court pulled up the civic body, it created some ‘namesake’ containment zones but stopped short of barricading such areas and spraying disinfectants as is required under Covid-regulations.

Despite a spike in the spread of Covid19, the number of micro-containment zones on the GHMC's official website remained the same since April 3. The corporation staff has not been updating the website on a daily basis in tandem with the state government's daily health bulletin.
 

Unlike last year, the civic body had not deployed its men to spray disinfectants. It is also not keeping a watch on people who have been home-quarantined and it has also not set up medical camps. No GHMC staff has been deployed to help the home- quarantined people get the daily groceries and other essentials.

Due to lack of surveillance and violation of other Covid19 guidelines by officials, Coronavirus patients are freely roaming around the city. Residents are complaining that the corporation authorities, including people’s representatives who run it from the front, are not even responding to the grievances they raised before them.

The civic body claims it has set up 63 micro containment zones in the LB Nagar, Charminar, Khairatabad and Serilingampally zones. Under LB Nagar zone, Kapra-1, Uppal-2, Hayathnagar-3, Saroornagar-4 and LB Nagar- areas have two containment areas each while Malakpet-6, Santoshnagar-7, Chandrayangutta-8, Charminar-9, Falaknuma-10 and Rajendranagar-11 also have two containment zones each under the Charminar zone.

Five areas in Khairatabad zone – Mehdipatnam-12, Karwan-13, Goshamahal-14, Khairatabad-17 and Jubilee Hills-18  -- have two zones each while Yousufguda-19 and Chandanagar-21 under Serilingampally zone have three each. Apart from these, two other areas -- Patancheruvu-22 and Serilingampally-20 under Serilingampally zone -- have two containment zones each.

The corporation, in coordination with the health department, was to have conducted the fever surveys but it did not. It has also not deployed its staff to take up the sanitization and spraying (sodium hypochlorite) activities. “It has not been keeping track of residential addresses of Covid19 patients to curb their movement,” a complainant said.

A senior official who kept track of the containment activities during last year said, "We were not asked to do it this time. The labeling of micro containment zones would simply remain on paper just to report this to the court. Residents and Covid19 patients take the risk of stepping out."

There is some action too, though. For instance, the  EVDM wing has been spraying sodium hypochlorite over all public spaces, especially on the main roads and at commercial places.