After a positive case of Covid-19 was detected in Manimajra or Sector 13 on Saturday morning, residents have alleged that people are still moving between the village and the housing societies here.
Members of the Modern Housing Complex (MHC) resident welfare association (RWA) have written to the commissioner of Chandigarh municipal corporation, KK Yadav, demanding that railings be installed on the boundary wall.
Ever since the outbreak of cases in Bapu Dham Colony in Sector 26, Sector 13 that is located adjacent to it has been sealed as well. All entry points, except for the railway under bridge and exit for Panchkula from the Fun Republic side, were blocked three days back. The housing societies have hundreds of houses within the complex, and stepping out even within one’s own complex is considered a breach of curfew.
However, president of the RWA Colonel (retd) Gursewak Singh said people were frequently jumping the wall between the societies and the village even during the lockdown. “We have been highlighting the issue about how unauthorised gaps in the wall were undermining the safety of the complex. The MC had filled in the holes, but people have installed sandbags and launched staircases to move between the complex and the village. This defeats the purpose of sealing the exits, and makes us feel very unsafe,” he said.
General secretary of the RWA SA Qureshi added that the RWA had requested the MC commissioner to put up a railing on the wall and to remove these ladders and sandbags. “We have also volunteered to patrol the boundary wall as the police can’t be present here all the time, but an approval is yet to come from the administration,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}General secretary of the RWA SA Qureshi added that the RWA had requested the MC commissioner to put up a railing on the wall and to remove these ladders and sandbags. “We have also volunteered to patrol the boundary wall as the police can’t be present here all the time, but an approval is yet to come from the administration,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Local area councillor Jagtar Singh Jagga said the authorities were doing all they could to manage people. “Manimajra village is the largest rural area in the city, and so far we have been doing okay. We will double efforts to control the spread of the disease,” he said, adding that he will ask the police to monitor the patch more stringently.
The local police here said they were aware of the patch and frequently patrolled it. Since March 23, 3,060 people have been rounded up in the area, the highest among all police stations, and 16 people have been booked under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for violating curfew.