Gurugram’s BPTP Park Serene takes care of its maintenance staff during lockdown

In view of the lockdown, now extended till May 3, the apartment has cut down the strength of its non-essential staff and provided all essential staff members with boarding and lodging facilities within the condominium to reduce the chances of exposure with the world outside the premises.

From adopting and following the usual set of rules to restrict deliveries, make purchase of essentials more organised and time-bound to ensuring that the staff that helps them keep functioning like a well-oiled machine is well fed and protected, residents of BPTP Park Serene in Sector 37D have mastered the art of being in a lockdown.

A BPTP Park Serene staff member sanitize the complex during Covid-19 lockdown, in Gurugram, Haryana. (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

In view of the lockdown, now extended till May 3, the apartment has cut down the strength of its non-essential staff and provided all essential staff members with boarding and lodging facilities within the condominium to reduce the chances of exposure with the world outside the premises.

Hemant Kumar, member of the condominium’s working committee which is coordinating all pandemic-related efforts, said that 23 staff members, including 10 security guards, had been housed within the condominium complex to meet the essential services.

“We are functioning with bare minimum staff involved in the running of essential services such as water supply, sewage treatment plant and electricity.

They are ensuring that the needs of the support staff providing essential services within the complex are met and they can work optimally in these unprecedented times.

“We have accommodated our staff in two 4BHK flats, which have been bifurcated to ensure that optimum physical distance is maintained between them. Since they work in shifts, no more than 10 people occupy the two flats at any time. We have asked the building management to ensure that health check-ups of these workers are regularly conducted,” said Kumar.

Residents at the condominium have also started a kitchen service for the staff.

“One of our residents, who runs a tiffin service, has taken the responsibility of preparing food for all the staff and we are providing her with the necessary resources through contributions from residents,” said Kumar.

He added that residents voluntarily contribute towards a fund which is being used to provide food to the staff residing within the complex. “People are stepping forward to donate funds which are being used to provide cooked meals to the staff. The complex has created a make-shift kitchen where food is prepared. We have made arrangements for preparation of food within the compound,” said Kumar.

“I prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for the workers and the menu is decided based on the availability of vegetables or ration that we are able to procure. The menu keeps changing after every few days,” said Priya Gupta, who cooks the meals.

In line with the guidelines issued by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, the condominium RWA has barred the entry of part-time domestic help, such as maids, cooks, drivers, car cleaners, and dog walkers, among others. They have allowed the entry of domestic help in special cases where the occupants are either physically challenged or are senior citizens living alone.

“Since we don’t have any senior citizen who lives alone, we asked one of the families that did need help with their elderly parents to house their help within their apartment for full time till the lockdown continues,” Kumar said.

Entry for external vendors such as food delivery persons, meanwhile, takes place at the tower entrance. Residents are required to collect the belongings from the tower. All persons entering the building with deliveries are scanned for their body temperature and mandatorily sanitize their hands. Since the lockdown started, the condominium has been maintaining a record of every person moving in and out.

“We are keeping a record of every individual’s movement, be it a resident or an outsider. Through record-keeping, we get an idea about the number of people from the condominium employed in essential services and need to step out. Besides, it helps us understand the other reasons due to which people are venturing out. We want to understand why people are going out so that a solution can be found, and the need addressed,” said Kumar.

Though the condominium does not have permanent shops within the complex, it has made arrangements and put in place a makeshift shop with help of a resident who runs a grocery store in the vicinity.

To ensure that physical distancing is followed at all times, in the area around the general store and other commonly used areas, barricades have been placed at a distance from each other besides circled markings. “Residents have been told to stay at an arm’s distance from each other and barricades have been placed so that people can maintain a gap while they queue for purchasing essentials. We have also made circled markings on the floor at a distance of 2 metres from each,” said Kumar.

Besides, some other grocery and vegetable shops are located just outside the condominium and routinely deliver requirements to residents. “Some people prefer to buy their basics from shops outside the complex. For such people, we have set up a window during which they can order and get their requirements delivered. This is being done to curb unnecessary movement,” said Kumar.

The need for cash has also been addressed as the nearest ATM is 3km away, making it impossible to walk down amid restrictions on movement.

Residents had reached out to the administration after facing a cash crunch following which a mobile ATM has started visiting the location.

Nikesh Goel, a member of the condominium’s working committee, said though residents were struggling to get cash, a more acceptable mode of payment, when the lockdown first started. “The situation has improved with the mobile ATM comes twice a week. Residents line up to withdraw cash, up to ₹20,000 per day, while adhering to physical distancing norms. Most importantly, it has helped us to curb unnecessary trips outside the complex,” said Goel.

The condominium has also roped in a private firm that comes to sanitise the complex on a weekly basis. In addition, residents had reached out to the MCG which has also initiated sanitization drives.

“Our society doesn’t fall within the MCG limits but we reached out to them and now sanitisation drives in the common are carried out in 3-4 days,” said Kumar.

The condominium has also purchased a spray machine, similar to the one used by MCG, with which it has ramped up the frequency of sanitisation.