Gurugram’s Park Place has adopted a senior citizens’ first policy

Amid the ongoing national lockdown announced to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), residents at Park Place in Sector 54 are taking special measures

Amid the ongoing national lockdown announced to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), residents at Park Place in Sector 54 are taking special measures towards the safety of elderly living in the high-rise. Residents at the condominium have created a roster of citizen volunteers to tend to the needs of senior citizens, who are at a high risk of contracting the infection.

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Yogesh Saini, a member of the volunteer team dealing with Coronavirus-related activities, said that a team of volunteers had been constituted to look after the needs of elderly residents and a separate WhatsApp group comprising senior citizens of Park Place had been formed to coordinate the efforts and cater to requests. “Senior citizens are at high risk of contracting Covid-19, due to which we are taking extra precautions regarding their safety. We have appointed volunteers to take care of senior citizens and ensure that they do not face difficulties of any kind,” Saini said.

Siddharth Punia, another volunteer spearheading the efforts, said that specific days in the week had been reserved to supply requirements to the elderly. “On specific days, we request all senior citizens living alone without any domestic help to share their list of requirements with us. Be it groceries or medicines or any other requirement, we make a note of it and ensure that our volunteers deliver it to their doorstep while taking all precautions,” Punia said.

The condominium has barred the entry of part-time domestic help such as maids, cooks, drivers, car washers, and dog walkers among others. External workers are only being allowed in special cases wherein the occupants are either physically challenged or are senior citizens living alone. External vendors such as food delivery persons and newspaper vendors, meanwhile, are halted at the main entrance. Residents are required to collect the delivered items from the gate. All persons entering the building with deliveries are thermal scanned and mandatorily required to use sanitisers. Within the condominium, common areas are regularly sanitised by the MCG and the RWA.

Given the lockdown, the apartment has cut down the strength of its non-essential staff and provided all staff members with boarding and lodging facilities within the condominium to reduce the chances of exposure to the world outside the premises. Surat Singh Yadav, estate manager, Park Place, said that 70 members of the staff had been housed within the condominium complex to take care of essential services. “Around 70 members of the maintenance and security team have started living within the complex so that basic tasks can continue as usual. Moreover, the safety of both residents and the staff is taken care of with reduction in movement,” Yadav said. He added that the condominium had tied up with a food outlet, which was delivering food, and the staff was not required to cook. “Besides providing them with food, we ensure that their health check-ups are done regularly. They have been given accommodation in flats and we make sure that social distancing rules are followed within these flats. The staff has also been provided with PPE kits which they use while entering apartments for the sanitisation work,” Yadav said.

Yogesh Saini, a member of the volunteer team dealing with Covid-related activities, said that all Covid-related announcements and advisories were being shared with residents through Whatsapp and Facebook groups. “There is constant dialogue with the residents and they can approach us with any requirement. The volunteers ensure that the needs are met,” Saini said.

The condominium has essential shops within the complex that are catering to residents. “Everything is available within the complex and for other necessities, we are allowing delivery services till the gates,” Saini said. Besides, in the area around the general store and other common areas, the floor has been marked to facilitate social distancing. “We have drawn circles on the floor at a distance of 2 metres from each other so that people maintain distance while standing outside the shop. More than five persons are not allowed inside the shops at a time. Guards have been placed within the shopping area to ensure that the rules and social distancing protocols are followed,” Saini said.

Punia, another volunteer, said that the Covid-response team had been monitoring the grounds, shopping complex, and other common areas to ensure that people abide by the lockdown conditions. “Initially, some people could be seen strolling around and were not taking the lockdown seriously. However, we started making announcements via loudspeakers and even got the police to take rounds of the complex. People are strictly abiding by the lockdown now and not coming out for any unnecessary reason,” Punia said.