Cases in Nizamuddin, shockwaves in Jangpura
markaz premises. We are trying to make people understand this,” he said.
Jangpura is located barely 2km from Nizamuddin markaz where thousands had attended a religious congregation recently and 24 of them later tested positive. So far, India has reported 1,251 cases — 120 of which are from Delhi.
Suman Gupta, a resident of Jangpura-a, said, “It is difficult to ascertain who went to the mosque and might have come in contact with those who had the disease. It’s very scary .”
Chadha said at the Jangpura has two mosques — one in Bhogal and the other in Jangpura- B. “The Muslim residents of Jangpura offer prayers in these mosques only. We are trying to make residents understand that there is no need to panic,” he said.
In Pant Nagar locality of Jangpura, which is at a stone’s throw away from Nizamuddin Basti, residents have closed their gates since Monday.
Anil Arora, a retail store manager in Pant Nagar, said residents have also got their area sanitised after getting to know about the markaz incident. “As a precautionary measure, we have now closed the gates of the area that open towards Nizamuddin. We are really scared. We are getting panic calls from our relatives and friends requesting us not to step out from our houses,” he said.
Jangpura is divided into four parts — A, B, Extension and Bhogal. The neighbourhood houses around 50,000 people and is dominated by Punjabi refugee families who migrated from Pakistan during the Partition in 1947.
Ever since Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced the 21-day countrywide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19, the RWA of Jangpura have ensured that all precautionary measures are taken. The entry and exit gates remain closed, with only the pedestrian entry open for people to go out for buying groceries, medicines or any other emergency.
The RWA has also been ensuring that vegetable and fruit vendors not enter the locality without wearing masks and hand gloves. The association has also stopped walks in the parks to enforce norms of social distancing. While the entry of domestic helps has also been restricted in the locality, sanitation workers are allowed to go door-to-door to do garbage pick-up in Jangpura.
The neighbourhood, however, is struggling to ensure safety in the area, with many guards being unable to report to duty amid the lockdown. “We have around 20 guards from a private agency. None of them have turned up since the national lockdown came into force. While many of them have left for their villages, others are not being able to travel, since they have not got their curfew passes,” said Anil Goswami, secretary of Jangpura RWA.
The association has now requested personal security guards hired by some residents and those employed with the banks to make rounds of the locality during the night. “It’s become a major issue here. We are trying to figure out how to tackle this,” Chadha said.
Meanwhile, some residents in the area complained about the unavailability of poultry in their locality. “The meat shops are shut in the area, since the last 6-7 days. People can’t survive on vegetables for 21 days. The government should issue an order to ensure regular supply of poultry as well, just like vegetables and milk,” said Dilip Khurana, who runs a travel agency in the area.