Coronavirus: In Nabi Karim, Chandni Mahal sealed zones, keeping people indoors a challenge

Coronavirus in India: The two places in Old and Central Delhi are among the most densely packed areas of the national Capital. They were declared containment zones, along with five others, by the Delhi government on Friday.

From flying drones for surveillance, to making announcements from mosques and police pickets asking people to remain indoors -- the Delhi government has worked out different ways to ensure residents remain indoors and follow social distancing norms in the Walled City’s Chandni Mahal and Nabi Karim containment zones.

A special women patrol unit of the Delhi Police on the rounds near Turkman Gate, on day eighteen of the 21 day lockdown to limit the coronavirus, in New Delhi, India on Saturday, April 11, 2020. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

The two places in Old and Central Delhi are among the most densely packed areas of the national Capital. They were declared containment zones, along with five others, by the Delhi government on Friday, taking the number of zones under hard lockdown to 30 in the city.

Delhi has so far has recorded 1,068 Covid-19 positive cases with 19 deaths.

On Saturday, three new containment zones were identified by the Dehi government, taking the total number of zones under lockdown in the national Capital to 33.

The three new areas of containment zones were Deoli Extension, A-Block Mansarovar Garden (one house) and Gali Number 1-10 (house numbers 1-1,000) in C-Block Jahangirpuri.

District Magistrate (south) BM Mishra said the containment plan in Deoli Extension was initiated after 8 members of a family tested positive for Covid-19. As per the order, house no-A 176, Deoli Extension and the area around it have been identified as the containment area.

After an area is declared as a containment zone, police seal the area and do not allow anyone to step out, even to buy essential goods such as milk, vegetables, fruits, etc.

All entry and exit points and even internal lanes are barricaded . The authorities allow only a number of selected vendors to supply groceries and other essentials to the neighbourhood with the help of RWA and civil defence volunteers.

The essential items are then delivered at the doorstep of homes inside the zones. Every person who steps out of the zone in case of an emergency or whose work comes under list of essential services is scanned at the gates.

Residents, however, complained that till Saturday evening, they were not provided any help by authorities in procuring essential items, such as milk and vegetables.

According to the district administration officials, keeping people indoors and ensuring that everyone gets delivery of essential items has been challenging for them, especially in densely populated areas such as Chandni Mahal and Nabi Karim.

The officials explained that Nabi Karim and Chandni Mahal areas are congested and are full of narrow alleys. All major stretches leading to these areas, along with all the internal roads, have been barricaded.

“We have barricaded the hot spots and also used drones to check if people are roaming around in narrow alleys of Chandni Mahal and Nabi Karim. Announcements are being made to make people aware of the help available and that they must not panic and just stay put in their houses,” said Sanjay Bhatia, deputy commissioner of police (Central).

Mohammad Shehzad, 32, a resident of Nabi Karim, however, said so far nobody from the local administration or other agencies had reached out to them for help. “Families are helping each other out here. Nobody has come from outside for help,” he said.

Till Saturday evening, residents in Chandni Mahal claimed they did not even have the contact number or details of any agency that they could reach out for help in procuring essentials.

“The area was sealed in the night. In the morning people who had stepped out to buy milk and vegetables were asked to go back home. There were no vendors, while the milk booth too didn’t have any stock. We waited the whole day for some announcement regarding door-to-door supply, but nothing happened,” said Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, a local resident, who is also a doctor.

Anwar Ullah, general secretary of the Chandni Mahal RWA , agreed that there were concerns. “We have been waiting for the door-to-door delivery of essentials. While some people have some stock, many others remained without essentials such as milk and bread. We appeal to local authorities to arrange a mechanism for supply,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prahlad Singh Sawhney, MLA Chandni Chowk said, he had received a complaint regarding milk booths running out of supply. “I have got a few complaints regarding milk and other supplies not reaching the sealed areas. I have asked the area SDM to address the situation on an urgent basis,” he said.

District magistrate (central) Nidhi Srivastava said they had deployed civil defence volunteers to rush to people in need of essentials and home deliver goods.

“Surveillance teams are still on the ground. We have circulated pamphlets with the contact numbers of grocers and other service providers. The volunteers will receive items on order and deliver it to doorsteps,” she said. She said that the efforts to screen households have been stepped up in these areas.

Nabi Karim and Chandni Mahal were declared containment zones after three new Covid-19 cases were reported from Nabi Karim, and seven cases were recorded from Chandni Mahal in the last three days. Three deaths were also reported from Chandni Mahal in the last couple of weeks.

DM (central), Srivastava, in her order, said there were 102 people staying in 13 locations in Chandni Mahal area, out of which 52 have tested positive. “Those who had tested positive have been sent to quarantine centres. However, they might have come in contact with residents of the area. Screening of the houses in the area is being done,” Srivastava said.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has sanitised the entire area by using knapsack and rickshaw-mounted sprayer machines. “Six teams, each with three workers and one motorised knapsack pump, were pressed into service for the sanitisation exercise. Around 250 litres of diluted Sodium Hypochlorite disinfectant was used,” an official of the north civic body said.

Apart from Nabi Karim and Chandni Mahal, the other five areas that were declared containment zones include Zakir Nagar in south-east Delhi, upscale residential area DLF Capital Greens in west Delhi’s Moti Nagar, Block B in Paschim Vihar, areas around a property in Ashok Nagar and pocket E of GTB Enclave. In Zakir Nagar, residents complained about the scarcity of drinking water supply in the locality.

At west Delhi’s new Moti Nagar’s upscale Capital Greens residential complex, where a single tower has been sealed, the housing colony’s management has been helping in delivery of essentials to those under containment. According to officials, three cases were reported from the society’s G-tower, which has been cordoned off. “We have tied up with the management of the society to deploy two persons in shifts to deliver essentials. Also, the security staff of the complex has been put on vigil to ensure that nobody steps out of their homes,” said a senior Delhi government official, who did not wish to be named.

In Pashchim Vihar, where only one case was found positive, an area covering at least 15-20 houses has been sealed. Similarly, at Ashok Nagar, area covering 40-50 houses has been turned into a containment zone. “Taking abundant precaution, we have sealed the houses in the vicinity for future containment. We have roped in RWAs to supply essentials to the sealed zones,” said an officer of the district magistrate (West)’s office.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Saturday conducted disinfectant spray drive to prevent spread of Covid in all the containment zones. SDMC has deployed over 200 sanitation employees, 20 tankers, 8 fire tenders and 16 jetting machines for sanitisation and disinfection in the containment zones.

SDM Vivek Vihar on Saturday issued a list of vegetables, grocery and milk suppliers. For two hours between 7 and 9 in the morning, people would be allowed to buy their essentials, as per the order.

Sadar Bazar witnessed a rush of people at a local vegetable market on Saturday.

In Ashok Nagar around 400 houses were sanitised around the area by using motorized pumps. In Zakir Nagar, 35 sanitation employees were deployed for spraying disinfectant in the area.