Dharavi Vs Covid 19 – Burning Issues – Free PDF Download

SILVER LINING FOR MUMBAI

•  Mumbai’s Dharavi, known as Asia’s largest slum, recorded its first coronavirus case on 1 April, sparking fears of a large hotspot in the city.
• Fast forward two months, the virus curve in Dharavi, part of Mumbai’s G North administrative ward, appears to be flattening.

DHARAVI’S CASE TIMELINE

• As of 12 June, Dharavi recorded 2,013 coronavirus cases, but its daily growth rate was 1.57 per cent as against the city’s 3 per cent and the 5 per cent in other wards such as P North, R South and S wards (all of these comprise Mumbai’s north-western regions).
• There were no deaths recorded between 30 May and 8 June but six deaths have been reported in the last four days, taking the toll to 77.

REDUCING CASES AND DEATHS

• Dharavi is home to about 8.5 lakh people, all living in very close, cramped quarters within a 2.5 square kilometre area.
• The doubling rate for the slum touched 44 days, much higher than the city’s average of about 22 days.
•  “It was a task that was deemed to fail but we have surprised everyone,” said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner, in charge of G north ward consisting of Dadar, Mahim and Dharavi.
• Social distancing and lockdown — the twin strategies that are largely regarded as the only effective ways to counter coronavirus in the absence of treatment or a vaccine — do not work in Dharavi.
• With houses just 10×12 feet, providing shelter to large families of seven to eight members, transmission through the community was inevitable. So instead, municipal authorities carried out rigorous contact tracing, testing and quarantining of coronavirus cases as well as cleaning community toilets to maintain hygiene since most of the slum residents depend on them.

EFFORTS BY NGOS

•  “We are reaping the benefits of the absolute rigorous contact tracing done in the initial days,” said Dr Rama Shyam, programme director of adolescent programme at SNEHA, a non-profit that works in Dharavi.
•  The BMC helpline (1916) had been very responsive in dealing with queries and giving out information, she added. Dighavkar said the BMC has conducted around 7,000 tests in Dharavi till date, with an additional 2,000 tests being done by the private labs.

WHAT HELPED TURN DHARAVI’S STORY AROUND?

•  A series of innovative experiments
• bringing in private practitioners,
•  isolating vulnerable populations,
• getting large quarantine facilities and
•  taking over private hospitals for treatment

SETTING UP CAMPS TO SCREEN DHARAVI

•  To screen each of the households in Dharavi was nearly impossible. BMC staff in PPE kits carried out the screening, often fainting due to the heat trapped in the narrow alleys.
• After the initial 47,000 who were screened door-to-door, the strategy changed.
• People with symptoms were asked to come for screenings and nine BMC dispensaries and 350 private practitioners were roped in along with fever camps to carry out this exercise.
• Irrespective of their symptoms, all patients were screened for fever and their oxygen saturation levels were checked. The familiarity with local practitioners meant residents were more forthcoming about their health.
• Using this strategy, local authorities were able to screen 3.6 lakh people apart from another 1.2 lakh senior citizens, who are more vulnerable to the infection. Since patients were screened and quarantined early, they were monitored, thus avoiding a drastic rise in the mortality rate due to late admissions.

LARGE QUARANTINE CENTRES TO THE RESCUE

• The first large facility that the administration took over in Dharavi was the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex with 300 beds. Municipal schools as well Mahim Nature Park were taken over as isolation and quarantine facilities with a capacity of 3,800. Until June more than 8,500 were quarantined in such facilities.

AEROBICS, YOGA AND BREATHING EXERCISES…

• Apart from 24-hour monitoring and care, some centres provided more holistic and innovative care. For instance, everyday at the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex, patients with coronavirus symptoms and those who were asymptomatic were put through aerobics, yoga and breathing exercises. The sessions had a twin purpose — to keep patients active and help them relax.

BMC TOOK OVER FIVE PRIVATE HOSPITALS

• For providing critical care, the BMC took over five private hospitals in the area. “We did not wait for the cases to reach 100 to start acting. The first fever clinic was started three days after the first case; we took over the 200-bedded Sai Hospital to treat serious cases within the first two weeks,” Dighavkar said. This ensured patients didn’t have to search in Mumbai’s crowded public hospitals for beds.

CHALLENGES CONTINUE

• There is the challenge of a possible second wave as migrants slowly return, as well the threat of more diseases when the monsoon arrives. Low-lying areas like Dharavi are especially prone to monsoon-related problems, beginning with flooding.
• AUTHORITIES WORKING TO REGAIN CONFIDENCE OF PEOPLE
• Meanwhile, with cases falling, municipal schools that were converted into quarantine centres are being handed back to school administrations so they can be ready whenever the government allows students to return. “This will help regain people’s confidence,” said Dighavkar.

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