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After outrage, Ghaziabad high-rise withdraws notice to stop entry of doctors, health workers
The owners’ association of a high-rise in Vaishali withdrew a notice asking doctors and health care workers living in the complex to stay put in Delhi until the
The owners’ association of a high-rise in Vaishali withdrew a notice asking doctors and health care workers living in the complex to stay put in Delhi until the end of the Covid-19 lockdown after the move drew widespread criticism on social media.
The district administration, residents’ welfare associations and office bearers of the Indian Medical Association, Ghaziabad, also held a meeting on Friday afternoon and clarified that all issues regarding the matter have been resolved.
The Neelpadam Kunj Apartment Owners Association, on May 7, issued a communication for stopping the entry and exit of doctors and health care workers from May 10, and asked them to make temporary arrangements for staying in Delhi till the nationwide lockdown -- imposed on March 25 to control the Covid-19 spread -- is in force.
The association withdrew the notice within hours after it came in for heavy criticism on social media Thursday night. It issued another communication in which it said its “advisory notice was issued on the evening of May 7, 2020, by mistake and has been withdrawn in the night of May 7, 2020”.
The association’s office-bearers said their communication to residents was based on a notification issued by Ghaziabad’s municipal commissioner to his zonal in-charges on May 5.
The municipal commissioner’s notification had said the zonal in-charges should get in touch with RWAs and local councillors and request doctors and health care workers, who live in Ghaziabad but work in Delhi, to make arrangements for their stay in the national capital for the remaining duration of the lockdown.
“We had issued a notice Thursday evening on the basis of the letter issued by the municipal commissioner. But our letter was withdrawn on Thursday night and another letter was issued about the withdrawal of our first letter. We didn’t have clarity about the letter from the municipal commissioner, which was in the form of an appeal and non-binding,” said Ram Tiwari, president of the board of managers of the association.
He said about 35 families live in Neelpadam Kunj, one of the oldest high-rises in Ghaziabad having 568 flats.
The controversy started after Ghaziabad’s chief medical officer NK Gupta wrote a letter on April 30, titled “appeal”, to municipal commissioner Dinesh Chandra. Gupta’s letter came in the wake of a number of Covid-19 cases in Ghaziabad being linked to health care wrkers employed in Delhi.
On May 5, Chandra forwarded Gupta’s letter to his zonal in-charges. He maintained his letter was an appeal and RWAs and councillors were to make “humble appeals” to doctors and health care workers. He told HT on Thursday the letter was issued in public interest and wasn’t binding.
“We have also reiterated this to the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Ghaziabad. The appeal is non-binding. But it was issued with an intention to prevent people in high-rises from getting infected,” Gupta said, adding 25% of cases in the district are linked to health care workers and hospitals.
The IMA office-bearers held a meeting with the Ghaziabad district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey on Friday to discuss the issue. “The matter is over and everyone is certain that there is no confusion. The issue of the appeal (by the CMO) no longer exists,” Pandey said.
He however did not reply when asked about the issue of April 30 letter of appeal issued by CMO and subsequent letter issues by Ghaziabad municipal commissioner of May 5.
Colonel (retired) TP Tyagi, chairman of the flat owners’ federation, who was present during the meeting, said, “There was no talk about dismissing the April 30 appeal. But everyone reached a consensus to fight the pandemic together. The RWAs should not stop anyone from coming in or going out.”
Dr VB Jindal, president, IMA, Ghaziabad, said, “We give full support to the district administration. The issues have been resolved. We were told that the letters were in the form of appeal and non-binding. It is also acceptable to us that those attached to Covid duties should remain in active and passive quarantine.”
