BackMumbai may drop idea to convert Wankhede stadium into a quarantine facility
Maharashtra cabinet minister and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray says grounds of stadiums have mud base and won't be usable during monsoons
PremiumMUMBAI : Two days after the the city’s municipal body decided to convert India’s 2011 world cup victory venue Wankhede Stadium into a quarantine facility for asymptomatic covid-19 patients, Maharashtra Cabinet minister and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray said grounds of stadiums have mud base and won't be usable during monsoons.
"We can't take the grounds of the stadiums or playgrounds because they have a mud base and they wont be usable during monsoons. An open space with a solid/ concrete base is usable and its being done already," tweeted Aditya Thackeray in response to Shiv Sena Leader Sanjay Raut's support to the civic body's move to take over some premises of Wankhede Stadium.
In a letter issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on 14 May, Chanda R Jadhav, assistant commissioner of A ward, had directed MCA to handover the possession of Wankhede Stadium with an immediate effect. The cricket stadium, the letter said, will be used for the ‘emergency staff’ of A-ward and for quarantining asymptomatic contacts of positive covid-19 patients.
The BMC’s A ward covers areas including Fort, parts of Ballard Estate, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, P D'Mello Road, Marine Drive (Queen's Necklace), AP Marg, Carnac Road (Lokmanya Tilak Marg) and Colaba.
The letter further stated that if MCA failed to comply with BMC’s directions, it will be liable for action under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, which is one of the penalties provided under Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, for disobeying any regulation or order made under the Act.
Mumbai is planning to add nearly one lakh beds for covid-19 patients in the coming days, Health Minister Rajesh Tope had said on 15 May. Tope also said that a proposal has been submitted to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to reserve 60% beds in private hospitals for corona patients.
Arrangements for these beds are being made at the Corona Care Centres being set up at Bandra Kural Complex (BKC), Goregaon, Mulund, Dahisar, Worli Dairy Colony, Wankhede Stadium and Worli NSCI.
The Corona Care Center in Mumbai has been categorized as one and two and will have quarantine and isolation system. One lakh isolation beds are being provided as part of Corona Care Center two in Mumbai. The arrangements are being made anticipating the cases to peak by June.
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