IAS officer leads fight in Pune, major hot spot with 1,890 cases
PUNE: “Why are you going to the office every day?” Pune’s additional municipal commissioner RubalAgarwal’sseven-year-old son asked her soon after the national lockdown was first imposed on March 25. He was under the impression that only doctorsandpoliceofficershadto report to duty, Agarwal, said. That evening, however, her son and her husband Prakher Agrawal, employed at an IT company, welcomed her home with a card and some homemade delicacies — clearly the father and son had had a heartto-heart.
An Indian Administrative Services officer of 2008 batch, Agarwal is responsible for bringing the Covid-19 pandemic under control in Pune, as she supervises the health departmentof the Pu ne Municipal Corporation( PM C) and is the chief executive officer of Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL).
The PSCDCL is responsible for updating figures: Covid-19 positive patients, deaths and those recovered. It is also tasked with keeping track of the surveys conducted among the city residents, and communicating the results to the concerned agencies. With Pu ne being one of the prominent hotspots of the disease in the country — it has recorded 1890 cases till May 4 — the PMC’s staff of 15,000 is in the forefront of the city’s response. “All our 42 departments are working round-the-clock to provide back-up services apart from our medical teams, engineers and clerical staff,” said Agarwal.
The PMC has established a Command Control War Room at the Smart City office. A lot of emphasis is placed on data crunching to trace and track areas where the coronavirus cases are emerging from, Agarwal said. “We are maximising our efforts in those areas from where the maximum number of positive cases are emerging and undertaking extensive surveys and testing. This is the reason why Pune started getting more positive patients,” she said.
Agarwal’s day starts at 6 am, with surya namaskar. Even after she returns from in the evening, work continues till midnight. Agarwal, like several of her ilk, has been putting in at least 14 to 18 hours of work a day since the pandemic began to sweep through the country.
With the health department falling under her charge, she regularly reviews the staff and the contact tracing efforts of positive patients, as well as taking care of quarantined people. “I am also required to visit hospitals dedicated to Covid-19,” said Agarwal, pointing out that as the number of positive cases was increasing in Pune, the number of quarantine facilities and isolation beds was being stepped up. Currently, Pune has 17,000 beds.
Once out of the house, she uses masks and gloves and PPE (personal protective equipment) while visiting hospitals. Her biggest concern is staffing. If the numbers of positive patients increase, additional medical staff will be needed, Agarwal said. “From where should I bring them if the situation worsens?” she asked.
“This is, undoubtedly, the most challenging situation in my career and life; but I am confident we will win this fight against Covid-19,” she said.