‘Don’t use 3 Mahul bldgs as quarantine centre sans nod’

The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to not use the vacant buildings at Mahul – meant for resettlement of project-affected persons (PAPS) – as quarantine centres for suspected Covid-19 patients without permission from the court.

The bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Amjad Sayed passed the order, even as BMC said the three empty buildings at Mahul PAP Colony will be used as last resort if suspected Covid-19 patients could not be accommodated elsewhere in M-west ward.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) jointly filed by Sharda Tevar – the mother of an undertrial prisoner lodged at Arthur Road jail – and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) – Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan – which is working along with the homeless, slum dwellers and marginalised communities on housing, food and water rights issues.

The petitioners contended that Mahul is the most unsuitable area in the city to quarantine Covid-19 patients and suspects, as residents in the locality develop a variety of health issues, particularly severe respiratory problems, and it will be counter-productive to quarantine Covid-19 patients at PAP Colony.

FRONTLINE WORKERS COVERED UNDER INSURANCE SCHEME

The Central government on Friday informed the Bombay HC that contractual frontline workers from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) who contracted Covid-19 as they were in direct contact with Covid positive persons will be extended benefits of the ₹50-lakh Central government insurance cover. The submission was made while hearing a petition filed by a workers union, consisting more than 6,000 contractual workers, which complained workers were not given safety gears by the civic body.