DLF Pinnacle accommodates staff to cut down exposure

For the residents of DLF Pinnacle in Sector 43, a complete lockdown is the only way forward in tackling the spread of the coronavirus disease Covid-19. The condominium

For the residents of DLF Pinnacle in Sector 43, a complete lockdown is the only way forward in tackling the spread of the coronavirus disease Covid-19. The condominium has sealed its gates and allows residents out only in case of an emergency. Thirty-eight members of staff have been accommodated within the condominium to cut down any movement from the outside world.

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The staff, working in two shifts, are available for housekeeping, maintenance and security needs of the residents 24*7. They have been provided with makeshift beds inside the boardroom and the drivers’ quarters. Cooking equipment has been provided in the residency’s club kitchen, where the staff cooks its food while wearing masks.

“The idea is to decrease contact with the outside world and reduce the risk of contamination, so we decided to provide the staff accommodation as well as cots, mattresses and bedsheets. No more than five persons are allowed to stay in a room. They live and eat inside the residency and they have been provided masks, tissues and sanitisers,” Jai Yadav, estate manager, DLF Pinnacle, said.

Residents too are pulling in donations to make sure the staff is well fed during their stay inside the society. Monetary donations, as well as food rations, are being provided to the staff voluntarily. On Friday, a family provided a home-cooked meal to the staff consisting of jeera rice, chhole and halwa for dessert.

“We felt that since they have stayed back for us and are working to the best of their abilities to keep us comfortable, why not do something special for them and provide them with home-cooked food. I hope other residents do the same and the staff stays happy,” Puja Malik, the resident who cooked the food at home for close to 40 members of the staff, said. She added that usually, residents provide free meals to a school, but with the school shut, this was another way of doing a good deed.

The condominium is maintaining a strict policy of not allowing any package to be delivered through its gates without it being sanitised. For the time being, the staff at the gate are making deliveries in person. Be it food items, packages and parcels or newspapers, the society is ensuring delivery executives drop them at the gate and then they are sanitised before being sent to the respective residents.

“The vendors leave the packages at the gate; the package is sanitised and then delivered by our staff to the residents. This is being done to ensure that the society is completely protected from outside elements. We have been following this policy for the past 10 days,” Yadav said. He added that the same procedure is being followed for newspapers.

The condominium has, on its premises, two daily needs stores and a pharmacy that are supplying essentials to the residents. To avoid gathering at the store, residents can place their order on WhatsApp. Once their order is ready, the store informs the residents, who can then collect it from the store. The management has drawn squares outside the store to designate the distance to be maintained by the residents. To reduce close contact, the store is placing orders on a table to be collected by residents and for payments to be made.

“We have been placing all our orders at the departmental store, vegetable vendor and pharmacist via WhatsApp. Once the order is ready, we get a reply and we usually get our helper to pick it up. They place the order on a table and payment is made through cash, card or online. They have even drawn squares to make sure there is no crowding,” Samar Roy, a 77-year-old resident, said.

Roy said that ever since the lockdown started, life has become restricted but he is trying to go back to his hobbies which includes playing the piano or guitar to beat boredom, although he still misses golfing dearly.

Physical activities inside the premise have been put on hold as residents have been strictly asked to stay indoors. The management has laid out strict rules for those requiring daily walks. It has advised that only residents with a medical history step outside for walks. A circular issued by the management said, “While not currently suspended, we would like to institute the following measures:

a) Not more than two people to walk together, with a safe distance from other walkers if advised by the doctor.

b) Senior citizens should remain indoors and at use balconies for fresh air.”

The residents, for now, are observing complete lockdown to ensure the further spreading of coronavirus does not take place. Haryana has so far recorded 16 positive Covid-19 cases.