Housing societies’ body against directive to convert clubhouses into Covid-19 isolation centres

Sanjeevan Sangle, chairman of the Federation, said the housing societies lack the technical knowhow and trained manpower to run such centres and the civic body should take it on themselves to create such facilities. 

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s directive of converting clubhouses of housing societies into isolation centres has been opposed by the Chikali Moshi Cooperative Housing Societies Federation. Sanjeevan Sangle, chairman of the Federation, said the housing societies lack the technical knowhow and trained manpower to run such centres and the civic body should take it on themselves to create such facilities.

In view of the rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has issued directives to cooperative housing societies to convert their facilities into isolation centres. Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Patil has in his order asked societies to set up isolation centres which would be used to house the patients who either are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms.  In the present wave, a large percentage of patients are home quarantined in their homes with the civic body keeping a close watch on them during the period.

Sangle, while speaking to The Indian Express, said on paper the proposal is good but the housing societies lack the bandwidth to handle such patients. “In the present wave, we are observing seemingly mild patients turning serious very quickly. The executive body of the housing society would not be able to handle such cases then,” he said. With a mad scramble for beds and medicine going on in the civic body the housing societies would be at a loss to handle such emergency cases, he added.

On an average, Sangle said, he is getting over 300 calls per day asking for assistance in beds/ICU/Ventilators. “Who will be responsible in case the patient takes a sudden turn for the worse. The civic administrator is quick to shrug off responsibilities,” he said, adding that they have taken up the matter with the civic administration.

Sangle said societies run on maintenance charges their members pay and as such would not have access to much funds to set up the infrastructure. Also if the infrastructure is ready, the societies would lack the trained manpower to monitor cases on a day-to-day basis. “We feel this order should be rescinded fast,” he said.

Source: Read Full Article