Cyclone disrupts war against COVID-19 in Mumbai

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, June 2

Cyclone ‘Nisarga’, which is expected to make landfall near Mumbai on Wednesday, has disrupted the functioning of the official machinery, which was so far busy in arranging healthcare facilities for patients who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

At least two makeshift COVID-19 care centres in Mumbai’s low-lying areas have been shut down and patients moved elsewhere after the disaster management officials warned of severe flooding.

“We have moved patients from the 1000-bed hospital at Bandra Kurla Complex to the

NSCI Sports Complex at Worli. Patients from the 200-bed hospital near Dharavi, too, have been relocated as these areas could get flooded,” a state government official said.

“As per the Chief Minister’s directions, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is taking utmost care to protect the COVID facility created at the BKC. It can sustain wind velocity of 80 to 100 kmph only,” the MMRDA, which set up the facility, said in a post on Twitter.

According to the agency, 150 patients were admitted at the facility.

The MMRDA added that it was putting up sandbags to strengthen the pillars of the facility. In addition to it, electricity, AC and oxygen facility would be turned off during the cyclone to prevent fire, according to the agency.

Residents of several fishing hamlets, known as ‘koliwadas’, which were declared containment zones, are being moved to higher ground.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s ward officers, who were busy setting up hospital facilities and enforcing containment in slum pockets norms, are now working on relocating people from the low-lying areas.

Civic officials say they were worried about gusty winds tripping up power lines which may cause machines at hospitals to shut down.

The civic-owned BEST, which supplies power to South Mumbai, said it had created a team of standby engineers to ensure that power supply was not disrupted to hospitals.