PMC worries about rural cases spilling over to city areas, gram panchayats enforce restrictions

The PMC shares its boundaries with many villages, most of them urbanised and densely-populated.

Cases have been reported from Manjri (located on Solapur Road), Pirangut (on Mulshi Road), Kolhewadi (Sinhagad Road) and other villages. This has prompted village panchayats to take several steps to contain the spread of the infection.

The gram panchayat of Kirkatwadi, located next to Kolhewadi, has declared a ‘complete closure’ till April 21 after one resident, a relative of the patient in Kolhewadi, tested positive. Meanwhile, 10 persons who had come in contact with the patient in Kolhewadi have been put in institutional quarantine.

“All shops, including grocery, vegetable and chicken, will be closed. If anyone is in urgent need of food items, they can contact the shopkeeper on phone and seek home delivery. If the shopkeepers refuse to provide home delivery services, then this will be communicated to the sarpanch and other members of panchayat,”said Gukul Karanjawane, sarpanch of Kirkatwadi.

Those not wearing masks will face a fine of Rs. 500, he said, adding that gram panchayat staff have been deployed round-the-clock to man public places.