At a time when the entire government machinery is on its toes to check the spread of coronavirus, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has taken the technology route to ensure strict monitoring and effective coordination between its various wings when it comes to tracing, isolation and treatment of suspect and positive cases.
All wings of the civic body are working with dedication to check the spread of the virus, says Municipal Commissioner G. Srijana.
According to her, technology has come in handy in this testing time.
Referring to the Command and Control Centre (CCC), she says the facility has been very useful in monitoring of people’s movement, sharing information with the police, holding online meetings with officials.
“Coordination and monitoring are the keys. The CCC is maintaining a database to ensure the accurate identification of the suspected areas. Sanitation and spraying activities are being monitored real-time using time stamping and GPS technology. Besides, handling social media accounts of the administration and announcement of updates through Smart Poles have become easy,” says Ms. Srijana.
Sample collection
The Rapid Response Teams (RRT) and sample collection have also been made GPS enabled. “Each team has been given a tab installed with a special app. The details of suspect cases are being communicated to the COVID-19 state control room (1902) and vice-versa through the app,” she explains.
Asked about the supply of essential commodities, the Municipal Commissioner says door delivery services are being provided by supermarkets and medical shops who have obtained prior permission from the GVMC.
“Initially, we received several complaints related to lack of provisions owing to panic buying and high demand. However, the issues have been addressed. The GVMC is operating nearly 80 mobile rythu bazaars at present,” says Ms. Srijana.
Referring to sanitation, the civic body chief says apart from around 7,500 regular sanitation staff, additional 1,000 workers have been hired. “Despite the risk of contracting infection, the sanitation staff are discharging their duties. They have been provided with protective gear. We have tied up with several voluntary organisations to provide them safety gear,” she says.
The containment areas and vulnerable localities are being sanitised regularly. Bleaching powder is being sprinkled. Special teams comprising fire tenders and special sprayers procured with help of Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT), mist sprayers, hand-held sprayers and high-rise sprayers are being used to spray liquid bleach and chloride component chemicals.
Special focus is being laid on high population density areas such as rythu bazaars, supermarkets and ATMs, she added.
Challenges
However, she says that a bigger task is at hand. “Making people abide by the social distancing norms while purchasing essential commodities is a daunting task as it can be achieved only when the citizens will understand the gravity of the situation.
“Restricting suspected people to their homes, counselling migrant labourers unwilling to shift to shelter and convincing people not to resort to panic buying are few among the big tasks at hand. We are trying our best to check the virus spread. We need the citizens’ cooperation,” she adds.
Leading from the front
Mr. Srijana has set an example by joining her duty just 22 days after her delivery.
“My family is taking care of my baby. I felt that if a new Municipal Commissioner was handed over the responsibility in my absence, he or she would have taken time to coordinate with departments. Timely action is the essence at this crucial juncture. So, I decided to re-join duty as soon as possible by taking permission from the higher officials,” says Ms. Srijana.
