Most parks and gardens in the city have been closed since the start of the third wave of Covid-19. (File)THE PUNE Platform for Covid Response has urged the municipal authorities to open parks and gardens to allow people, especially senior citizens, to do their exercise.
Sudhir Mehta, member of the platform and president of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), said they have made this recommendation after consultation with doctors on their platform.
Most parks and gardens in the city have been closed since the start of the third wave of Covid-19. This, Mehta said, has pushed many people, especially senior citizens, to do exercise on roads and footpaths. Mehta said this was fraught with danger as chances of accidents are higher. Doctors on the platform have in fact talked about allowing parks to be made operational as with mask and social distancing, chances of infection would be low. “
Well ventilated places are safe and in parks social distancing comes naturally,” he said. Also, daily exercise is necessary even during the pandemic, especially for senior citizens.
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Another point which Mehta has pushed for is making offline classes optional for students in senior schools and colleges. At present, the state government has suspended all classes ever since cases have surged.
But Mehta said such a decision is neither good for students nor was it based on scientific analysis. Unlike the first or second wave, this year vaccination was available and the senior school and college students have mostly got their first dose. Without practicals, most students would be unemployable in the long run, Mehta said.
“We had talked with doctors on our platform and majority of them were of the view that offline classes should be made optional and not suspended completely. Any way, students are going out and meeting friends so it does not make sense to suspend classes all together,” he said.
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