TMC gets another officer to tackle Corona cases

IAS officer Ranjit Kumar to assist civic chief

With the massive increase in the number of coronavirus cases in Thane, the state government has appointed an additional officer to assist the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) in tackling the spread of the virus in the city.

The IAS officer, Ranjit Kumar, will assist the TMC chief Vijay Singhal as a special officer. The decision comes as Thane’s Covid- 19 count rose from 301 on May 1 to 2,018 on Sunday.

Speaking with Mirror, Kumar said that his primary responsibility was to oversee the progress of various infrastructure projects designed to boost the city’s isolation and treatment facilities. “The situation is so dynamic that we cannot have a standard response. Whether men, material or resources, our approach has to be evolved and calibrated accordingly,” he said.

The officer will continue to play the role of coordinator at the Information Technology department at Mantralaya. He will also be in charge of surveillance of containment zones in various hotspots set up by the TMC.

Kumar added that the city would need additional manpower, at the decision making levels, in order to rein in the spread of the virus. “Our two-pronged strategy is to prevent the spread with containment and manage and improve existing facilities to treat patients,” he said.

Deputy municipal commissioner Sandeep Malvi confirmed that TMC chief Singhal had put in a request for more manpower after a recent meeting with elected representatives and guardian minister Eknath Shinde.

The TMC is currently in the process of setting up a 1,000-bed Covid-19 hospital, while State Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad announced on Sunday that the Maharashtra Housing Area Authority would begin building a temporary facility to house asymptomatic patients for 10 days.

The city is in urgent need of medical infrastructure to handle the projected patient load, and with the two new facilities, the civic body’s hospital bed count will go up to above 3,000. However, with the number of cases touching 2,018 on Sunday, even the proposed capacity might not be enough in the coming weeks. The city recorded 127 cases on Sunday.

Friday marked the biggest jump in positive cases in the city with 197 cases. So far, the rise in cases was around 80-95 per day.