In Pune, lockdown to be relaxed in least-affected areas after May 3

The PMC chief said the discretion of sealing a particular area was with the municipal commissioner and he, after consulting with the city police, has prepared a strategy. “There are 130 pockets, mainly slums, that have been identified as hotspots. So, the sealing will be restricted to these pockets instead of all ward office areas,” said Gaikwad.

There was no point in keeping parts of the city, which had not seen too many cases of coronavirus, sealed off, said Gaikwad. Movement of people and goods, as well as economic activity, needed to be brought back to normal in the least-affected areas, he said.

“I am waiting for the guidelines of the state and Union government that have to be followed after lifting of lockdown,” he said.

The PMC is ready with its containment plan post lockdown from May 4, he said, adding that there will be rigorous implementation of the containment plan in hotspot areas. This will help the police and civic administration carry forward its containment plan effectively, Gaikwad said.

The PMC has, till now, implemented its containment plan in each ward office, thus covering a huge area.

The hotspot areas, with a higher number of cases, were much smaller, he said.

Of the 15 ward offices of PMC, five were in the ‘red zone’, with several reported cases, and the PMC has launched a special drive to check the spread of infections in these areas