Princeton Estate’s residents ready to take up maintenance duties

As the extension of the lockdown to halt the spread of coronavirus seems imminent, residents of Princeton Estate in Sector 51 have formed an emergency task force

As the extension of the lockdown to halt the spread of coronavirus seems imminent, residents of Princeton Estate in Sector 51 have formed an emergency task force that will take over the maintenance duties and will be responsible for running the society in case, the maintenance staff leaves.

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With the idea to make the society self-sustained, a team of about 30 volunteers has been formed to look after the maintenance of the society if the lockdown is extended which may leave the condominium with little or no staff. The task force has been divided into different groups which will oversee horticulture work, housekeeping, technical maintenance, and security. Residents who are part of the technical team will soon be trained about running machines such as elevators, gensets, water pumps and overseeing the electricity supply.

“We are expecting a situation when the staff will wish to move out of the society and join their families. In anticipation of such circumstances, we have created the task force. The residents in the team will be given an orientation about how different things in the society run. We plan on creating a more detailed action plan soon,” said Arati Pandya, acting secretary of the society’s resident welfare association (RWA). The volunteers will be provided orientation by the staff of the DLF group, said Pandya.

Ranjeet Kumar, a resident who is part of the administration group of the task force, said, “The administration team will be responsible for office administration, procurement of essential items, payments and others.” He added that for the time being, the focus was on making sure maintenance activities run smoothly.

Since the lockdown started on March 25, the society cut down its staff by 50%. The remaining staff was asked to stay inside the complex to minimise the exposure to the outside world. Close to 30 members of the maintenance staff have been provided accommodation inside the condominium in vacant apartments, reading rooms, basement etc. Residents donated mattresses, bed sheets to help out the staff and make their stay comfortable. The staff has been provided with a cooking station and are responsible for their own ration. The salaries of the staff working in the society currently have been increased.

“The staff who are residing inside the society are receiving 1.5 times their usual monthly salary. They are also being provided a separate allowance of ₹150 a day for their daily expenditure. The staff not residing inside the society are also getting their usual pay,” said Sandeep Sahijwani, vice president, RWA.

The condominium, which is home over 3,000 residents, has a departmental store, a dairy store, and a chemist shop. Residents have to adhere to social distancing protocols while buying essential items in the society. Markings have been made in front of the stores to designate places for people to stand in queues. “Only two people are allowed to go inside the milk booth at a time. Others have to wait for their turn outside while standing on the markings,” said Kumar.

For the common areas, the RWA has made mandatory for the residents. Posters informing the same have also been placed right outside the elevators of all eight towers. Walks, for the time being, have been put on hold and special ‘Covid security supervisor’ has been assigned to keep track of residents moving around the complex.

“The Covid supervisor takes rounds around the complex to make sure no resident steps out other than to go to the store. No one is allowed to amble around unnecessarily,” said Sahijwani.

Pet owners, who wish to walk their dogs, are only allowed to go up to the closest poop area and not take walks around the society. At the gate, all residents and staff members have to wash and sanitise their hands. Washbasins have also been installed at the entrance of all eight towers. Most deliveries have been restricted to the main gate, while the delivery of some essential goods is allowed till the tower lobbies. Residents are responsible for picking up their deliveries like groceries, milk, newspaper, and others from the lobby. For senior citizens, the estate office has offered to make deliveries up to their door and provide any support required. The society is also maintaining records of all residents stepping out.

“With the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of changes in the way we live have taken place. Enforcing them was difficult in the first week, but now residents have become more understanding,” said Sahijwani.