Mohali admn mulls action against landlords of crowded buildings in Nayagaon

On Monday, the report of a 25-year-old man, who lived in the same building as the family that had tested positive in Adarsh Nagar, came out positive

With six coronavirus cases surfacing in Adarsh Nagar of Nayagaon in the past three days, the Mohali district administration has started a survey to identify such buildings where families are occupying a single room and sharing a common toilet.

Residents of Adarsh Nagar in Nayagaon have barricaded all the lanes in the area and are not allowing anyone to step out of their houses. Police have also been deployed at the main entrances. (Anil Dayal/HT)

On Monday, a 25-year-old man from the area tested positive and was admitted to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. He was staying in the same building in Adarsh Nagar as the five members of a family who had tested positive. The family lived in one room in the building having 40 rooms, all rented.

Mohali deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan said, “It has been observed that the families live in the close proximity to each other and even a single infected person can become a cause of the spread of an epidemic at a larger scale. We will be identifying other such buildings which have congested living spaces so that the occupants can be scattered in future avoiding an outbreak.”

He said they had sought a legal opinion to take action against the landlords of such buildings where families live in close proximity with a common toilet.

On the other hand, Jaspal Singh, owner of the building where the family tested positive, said, “The building was constructed many years back and we have rented out the rooms to the needy. The family which tested positive was using a separate washroom.”

SCREENING AND BARRICADING

The district administration has already declared Adarsh Nagar and the adjoining areas as a containment zone ever since coronavirus cases have been reported.

Mohali civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said, “An extensive drive to screen and test the residents of Adarsh Nagar is being undertaken. In the past two days, the health teams have screened around 200 people and taken samples of the 56 immediate contacts of the patients.”

Meanwhile, residents of Nayagaon have barricaded all the lanes in the area and are not allowing anyone to step out of their houses. Police have also been deployed at the main entrances.