While the government is planning to ease restrictions after two months of lockdown, the residents of northwest Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh fear the same claiming that it would result in a “rapid rise” in the number of COVID-19 cases and that it should be declared as a red zone.
The residents of this area believe that if the area is not converted into a containment zone and sealed properly, it would become a big hub of cases just like Mumbai’s Dharavi slum.
During a tele call with a news channel, Delhi Residents Forum Secretary Ritesh, said, “We want a complete sealing of the area as there are already more than 100+ cases and if the restrictions are eased the same would result in converting it to a big hub of cases just like Dharavi.”
Ritesh also mentioned that the continued functioning of the nearby Azadpur Mandi is one of the causes of a large number of cases in the area because most the vendors and traders working in Azadpur reside in nearby areas which include Shalimar Bagh and Model Town.
Recently, BJP councillor Tilak Raj Kataria wrote a letter to Northwest Delhi’s Commissioner Sandeep Mishra requesting for the closure of Azadpur Mandi which is becoming a hot spot of cases. “…The Azadpur Mandi near Shalimar Bagh is becoming a hotspot of COVID-19 cases and the same should be shut down immediately.”
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data, there are 7,233 active cases in the national capital of which 2,129 people have been discharged and died.
