BMC removes online bed availability tracker from public domain

Amid a surge of Covid-19 cases and high demands for beds in private hospitals, BMC has removed its online bed availability tracker from the public domain and restricted its access to limited officials. According to civic officials, the link was circulated in the public domain 'accidentally', leading to misuse of the bed tracker.

The online bed availability tracker was suspended two days back. Asked if the tracker had been discontinued or whether its link had crashed, BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal said, “It exists but not in public domain.”

Explaining the issue further, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Health) Suresh Kakani said: “That online bed availability tracker is to keep for ward war rooms and officials to track bed availability for allotment of beds and not to be put in public domain for public use. However, the link got circulated through various channels and later we found out that it was being misused by people.”

Speaking to the Free Press Journal, Kakani said, “The bed tracker exists, however, we have changed the base and have allowed limited access. People looking for beds can contact ward war rooms and bed will be allotted to them if they really need it. Those who do not need beds will not be allowed to block the beds.”

The BMC officials have time and again appealed to the residents to not wait for hospitalization as per their choice of hospitals or book the hospital beds on their own. According to the protocol for allotment of beds, people need to contact the ward war room. The BMC has published contact numbers of the ward war rooms on various social networking and microblogging sites apart from its official website for the Covid bed requirements.