Kolkata: Covid-down Salt Lake and New Town go for self-help – Times of India

Kolkata: With civic authorities in Salt Lake and New Town facing a tough time to tackle the surge in Covid cases and the shortage of vaccines, block committees in Salt Lake, resident welfare associations (RWA) of gated communities and housing blocks in New Town and NGOs have taken up various initiatives on their own, including sanitisation drive in their localities and complexes, helping citizens register and get appointment in Co-Win app and conducting awareness drives in market places.
All gated communities and housing blocks in New Town have Covid-affected residents, so the resident welfare associations are taking up sanitisation measures inside their complexes on their own. “We are conducting sanitisation drive regularly in all the towers of our housing complex, including the lobby and lifts,” said Gobinda Biswas, general secretary of Sunrise Point apartment owners’ association. “Our residents’ association is sanitising the complex regularly. Besides, NKDA is also conducting routine sanitisation,” said Subho Dasgupta, a resident of Moonbeam housing complex. Several gated communities are keeping hand sanitisers at all building blocks for people, especially domestic helps to sanitise their hands before entering. The New Town AE block cultural and social welfare association distributed masks and soaps to adjacent block residents, community market, traders and pedestrians on Sunday along with conducting awareness drive on the necessity to follow the Covid safety protocols.
The New Town Forum and News (NTFN), a local NGO, conducted a registration camp at the Biswas Bangla gate’s unbox café from 6pm to 8pm on Sunday, helping citizens register in the Co-win app. Several residents complained that they were facing problems to register and get appointment through Co-Win app and that appointments were getting cancelled.
“Our volunteers are guiding people on phone to get registered and appointments in the Co-Win App,” said NTFN chairperson, Samaresh Das.
In neighbouring Salt Lake, where several hundreds are getting Covid-affected every day, the AE Block Samaj Kalyan Sangha conducted a sanitisation drive in their locality on Sunday. “We have been conducting the drive by getting the spraying machine and disinfectant with our own funds,” said a block committee member.