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Lockdown may be eased in parts of Pune after May 3, says civic chief
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad said that barring five wards in the city which are the worst affected, the lockdown restrictions would be eased in the remaining 10 wards.
Even as Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday that the lockdown restrictions will not be lifted in Mumbai and Pune as it falls under the red zone, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has begun the planning for easing restrictions in the least affected parts of the city.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad said that barring five wards in the city which are the worst affected, the lockdown restrictions would be eased in the remaining 10 wards.
“PMC is identifying micro-clusters from where the maximum number of Covid-19 cases is emerging in the city. While the containment strategy would be enforced strictly in these micro-clusters, restrictions in the rest of the city would be eased,” he said.
The precise details would be announced later once the guidelines are received from the central and state governments, he said.
Pune is the second worst-hit city by the Covid-19 pandemic in Maharashtra after Mumbai with 86 deaths, and 1,518 positive cases as of April 30.
Most of the cases are emerging from slum pockets in five of the 15 wards, namely, Bhawani peth, Kasba-Vishrambaug, Dhole Patil, Shivajinagar and Yerawada-Kalas-Dhanori.
“PMC is identifying micro-clusters from where maximum Covid-19 positive cases are emerging and restrictions would continue in these areas. These hotspots would be converted into micro-clusters,” he said.
Additional municipal commissioner Rubal Agrawal said that a meeting has been called with the police, district administration and civic officials to finalise the micro-clusters on Saturday.
“PMC is preparing a plan on what restrictions should be relaxed and what precautions should be followed by the citizens. The final plan would be in place after receiving the new guidelines issued by the central and state governments,” she said.
