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On the frontline: Covid-19 crisis evolves each day, but we resolve new challenges immediately, says Pune civic chief
Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad speaks to HT about PMC’s role and his initiatives to handle the situation
Shekhar Gaikwad, Pune municipal commissioner
Pune has emerged as one of the hotspots of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The key responsibility of health and medical facility in the city lies with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad speaks to HT about PMC’s role and his initiatives to handle the situation. He is the first municipal commissioner to seal the entire city using the 123-year-old Epidemic Diseases Act.
What exactly is your role in this crisis?
As the municipal commissioner, my main role is to coordinate with the central, state governments and various other bodies every day. The major role is to make necessary arrangements to deal with the spread of the Sars-Cov-2 virus which causes the Covid-19 disease at the city level. We have to establish adequate number of quarantine centres, acquire hospitals, hostels and create more healthcare facilities. We also have to provide personal safety equipment to the medical, sanitation and others who are fighting the disease from the frontline.
How does your day begin and roll out?
As the municipal commissioner’s post is a key post, it is a busy job. However, this is the biggest crisis we have faced in a century and it requires my 100%. My day starts at 6am and ends at 10pm, but coordination through the telephone goes on till late night every day. I take a half hour lunch break. I am mainly busy with coordination of various agencies, divisional commissioner, district collector, police and PMC staff. Various representatives come forward to donate items to PMC and I need to make sure these people are catered to and their items are sent to their place of need.
What precautions are you taking?
I am taking all precautions like using a mask, hand gloves and I wash my hands regularly and maintain social distance. However, since we are working on the front line, we cannot avoid meetings and meeting key persons. So my duty does not allow me to keep complete social isolation, but I take utmost care to follow all precautions. When returning home, I change clothes and sanitise all the things, I used throughout the day.
What is your assessment of the Covid-19 crisis in Pune? How do you see it unfolding?
We are well prepared to handle any situation. We can treat almost 25,000 Covid-19 patients and the capacity is being built further. Our main aim is to stop the spread. For that, we sealed the eastern part of the city in the first phase and later sealed the whole city completely. The PMC health staff is conducting the door-to-door survey and checking whether citizens have any symptoms of Covid-19. PMC is also keeping its clinic open for maximum number of hours so that residents can visit it.
What gaps do you see in healthcare and relief work?
We can’t claim that we don’t have gaps, but as this crisis is emerging, new challenges crop up every day and we are trying to address the issue immediately. There is good coordination among all the government departments and within the PMC.
