Indore Follows Bhilwara Model to Combat Covid-19 as City Puts Garbage Routes to Good Use

Indore: With 923 Covid-19 cases, Madhya Pradesh's Indore city has decided to emulate Rajasthan's Bhilwara model to tame the deadly pandemic.

To achieve that, the administration has deployed 1,844 teams for surveys and screening across the city. Of these, 1,000 are municipal corporation squads and the remaining 844 groups comprise government teachers, Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers.

These teams took to the field on Wednesday and there are plans to have a re-screening six days later.

“We have taken the route of counting each garbage collection vehicle as a unit for these surveys and screening on 467 routes,” said Ashish Singh, Indore municipal corporation commissioner, adding that three teams would be sent to each of these routes.

Those containment areas which have already been surveyed are marked on the Geographic Information System (GIS) and the remaining localities would be covered in the survey afresh, added the officer. "On the basis of the garbage vehicle routes, we have distributed the city for 1800 units," he said.

Singh said Indore is following the Bhilwara model of coronavirus control which is nothing but extensive screening of locals for identifying and isolating possible carriers to prevent the spread of the disease.

Indore was crowned the cleanest city of the country a third time last year and has an efficient garbage collection system in which municipal vehicles pick up the waste from doorsteps. The civic body is now using these well-charted routes to survey and screen locals.

These 1,800 teams would be surveying locals with a questionnaire primarily trying to ascertain whether any of the family members has any Covid-19 symptom or if anyone came into touch with a possible carrier recently. In case the teams spot a likely coronavirus patient, he/she would be referred to a designated hospital for further medical assistance.

A few days ago, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said that the city had surveyed 3.5 lakh people in containment zones, around six to seven lakh in the city and planned to take this number to 20-21 lakh shortly.

The administration has already surveyed 12 lakh residents locked in containment zones while the process has started for remaining 12 lakh population in the city.

While the total number of positive cases has reached 923, of these 52 people have died and 71 patients have recovered from the disease.