Kolkata: New Town housings step up coronavirus fight – Times of India

KOLKATA: Emergence of multiple Covid-19 positive cases has prompted various residents’ associations in New Town to tell their senior citizens to stay indoors with assurance of all essential supplies by volunteers. They have also shared contact numbers and other details on various social media platforms for any resident to reach out to them for help.
The latest missive has come after cops turned several pockets of the township into containment zones to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading.

The associations, which are co-ordinating closely with the local administration, have also cautioned other residents not to step out of their homes unnecessarily and avoid going to the containment zones.
The cops on Wednesday sealed parts of Box Bridge, AL Block, road beside Balaka Abasan, parts of Hatiara and some other pockets of New Town.
“With the help of detailed planning and co-operation of the residents and the administration we managed to keep Covid-19 away from New Town. But now when a few cases have emerged we have reiterated the advisory to all the residents and particularly requested senior citizens and those with underlying conditions to stay indoors. We will take care of delivering medicines and other essential supplies,” said Samir Gupta, joint convenor of the New Town Residents’ Welfare Forum.
The social media platforms in the township were abuzz with queries about which pockets were barricaded and if it was wise to step out to even purchase essential items.
A proactive approach along with regular communication with fellow residents and local administration helped New Town adapt to life after the outbreak. NKDA along with local administration ensured vegetable, fish and milk supplies to all the blocks in the township continued undisrupted.
To check the spread of the virus several gated communities in New Town had already put in place stringent measures like shutting down swimming pools, gymnasiums and games’ areas, disinfecting high-touch surfaces, providing hand sanitisers and masks for guards and service providers and increasing the frequency of cleanings within buildings.
At the upscale DLF New Town Heights in Action Area 3, the residents’ association has shut down the swimming pool, tennis court and the gymnasium till March 31. All recreational activities inside the complex comprising 840 apartments have been cancelled. A group of volunteers have also been formed to help those in distress. “We also have an ambulance on stand-by,” said Suren Mukherjee, secretary of the residents’ association.
At Sukhobrishti with over 1,500 apartments, the association has put in place a system where residents place their orders and vendors deliver them after a gap of few days. “The objective is to make sure nobody steps out of home unnecessarily,” said Mainak Kanrar, joint secretary of the association. Several residents expressed their concerns over several quarantine centres that have come up within the township.

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