Space crunch forced us to cut quarantine period: BBMP chief

Cases are being reported even from non-containment zones now.
BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar
BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar

With 22 containment zones in Bengaluru, of which Puttenahalli and Marappanapalya were added on Saturday, and a surge in Covid-19 cases across the state, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is looking to curb the virus spread, and fast. Random testing in non-containment zones will be conducted with the help of experts from the Indian Institute of Science, said BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar, while talking exclusively to Bosky Khanna.

Cases are being reported even from non-containment zones now. What is your plan? It has been decided that with rising cases, random testing will be done in areas falling under non-containment zones too. So far, 22,177 tests have been conducted in Bengaluru and positivity rate is 3%. Random sampling will be taken up, now.

Is BBMP prepared to handle the rise in cases? We have had discussions with the state government, and identified 1,600 hotels with 16,000 rooms and 246 hostels where over 9,000 people can stay. Identifying new places is a challenge, especially with flights and trains arriving in Bengaluru. We have also listed resorts near the airport. Rooms at various stadiums can be used too. Using the grounds is our last option, especially after what happened in Mumbai, where the virus spread when quarantined people used common facilities.

Is space crunch the reason behind reducing the number of institutional quarantine days? Yes, the decision was taken because of space constraints. Those who have better facilities at home can be put under strict home quarantine, while those who do not have access to good facilities can be sent to institutional quarantine.

What is the reason behind shrinking containment and buffer zones? It was becoming difficult to manage large areas, as screening of all the people, including the vulnerable, was a challenge. Change in zoning regulation was important from the economic point of view too. Initially, containment zone was 3km and buffer zone 5 km. As a large number of households were covered, there was a lot of pressure on the system. So it was shrunk to 1km and then to 200 metre. In Padarayanapura, we have sealed an area larger than 100 metres with of 32,000 population, but in Jnana Bharathi Nagar, it is just one street.

Which are the areas that pose a challenge in containment and non-containment zones? We face a challenge in slums and areas that have poor quality accommodation, like sheds and labour camps, as sanitation is an issue. The critical containment areas are Nagawara, Padarayanapura, Hongasandra and Mangammanapalya.

With monsoon arriving and a likelihood of dengue cases rising, what is the plan? Does BBMP have enough funds? There is no dearth of funds. Test kits are provided by the state government, while we spend on cleanliness, sanitisation, masks, food and ration kits. SDRF gave Rs 20 crore in the first installment and Rs 25 crore in the second. We hope there will be no floods this time, and if that happens, we will have to put up relief camps. To control diseases like dengue, we have taken up spraying and fogging. As compared to last year, the number of dengue cases is less this year

What has Covid19 taught us? Is there anything that had to be given attention to, but was not? We have had discussions with the deputy chief minister and realised that there is a need to strengthen health infrastructure. There was a database of voters, but there was no health profile of people. Now we know the demographics and have created a database. There is also a need to reach out to people and keep channels of communication open, and be better prepared for later pandemics.

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