AMID ALERT, BMC READY TO SHIFT COVID PATIENTS

MUMBAI: As gusty winds and rain are expected in Mumbai on Saturday and Sunday in the wake of Cyclone Tauktae which is forming over the Arabian Sea, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday said it is ready for disaster response, if needed.

BMC has made all necessary arrangements in case the need arises to shift Covid-19 patients from the Bandra-kurla Complex (BKC) jumbo facility. Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner in charge of BMC’S public health department, said, “There are not more than 300 patients at BKC jumbo facility. We have put in place a plan to shift them if the need arises.”

Over the past two days, BMC stopped admitting Covid patients at BKC jumbo facility in anticipation of the cyclone, Kakani said. “So, not many patients are there at present. We have vacant beds at Nesco jumbo facility in Goregaon and at Sevenhills Hospital in Andheri, where patients can be moved. Ambulances with oxygen, doctors, ICU beds are all on stand-by,” Kakani added. A BMC statement on Friday said, “All dangerous trees around jumbo facilities have been pruned. 384 such trees were pruned. At these centres, required manpower has been made available along with equipment and vehicles, keeping in view the fact that there is a possibility of falling trees or branches in case of strong winds.” All waterlogging spots are equipped with dewatering pumps, the statement said.

BMC has activated temporary shelters in all 24 wards, and citizens living along coastal Mumbai have been alerted. Mumbai Fire Brigade has been directed to deploy flood rescue squads at all six beaches in BMC limits.

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