Aim to prevent community spread of Covid-19 in Nagpur: Municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe

Nagpur Municipal Corporation commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has been in the hot seat ever since coronavirus broke out. He has received a few bouquets and lot of brickbats for his decisions. Everyone was expecting Nagpur to be out of the red zone but Mundhe had other plans. In this exclusive interview, he explains the rationale in asking an extension to lockdown till May 31

Absolutely ill-founded and wrong.All decisions are taken collectively. Everyone’s inputs are considered. I have had discussions with people, colleagues, ministers and elected representatives. I am authorized to take decisions for the good of the city, to control the pandemic and that’s what I am doing. There are 20-odd officers who are looking at different issues. We take decisions based on facts and laws, and the need of the hour. We have established 18-20 Corona management systems. All are taken into consideration. That's how we could manage systematically. Had the system not been in place, we would have been working in an ad hoc manner. A Corona War Room was established very early. It acts as the think tank and nerve centre. Everyday we meet for 2-3 hours at different times. I take advice from media, NGOs, politicians and citizens. Two things are taken into account — is it needed and good, and will it fit into our process?

Both. But I have never responded in an ad hoc manner. My approach has been to put in place a system that will last long. The input for deciding on mass quarantine came from the zonal medical officers and paramedical staff. They felt there were many who were hiding information and needed to be tested. I agreed. They said we must quarantine at least 25-30 households, take their samples and test them. On that basis, we will decide further. I agreed. Initially it was just 15-20 people. Today from Satranjipura and Mominpura more than 2,000 are quarantined of whom 300 are positive. The numbers in Parvati Nagar and Gaddigodam is 700. We have to ensure the positive cases do not infect others.

I am taking their inputs and doing whatever is feasible. The current situation is not normal. I can’t take suggestions on the places to quarantine. Everyone will say ‘not in my area’. I first took government institutions, then semi-government places and hostels. Then came residential buildings which are not occupied. Have I taken any private building? After these got full, I went to college hostels (VNIT, Symbiosis and Lonara college). Quarantine centres have been made as per guidelines. The purpose is to isolate suspects so that they do not infect others.

That is for others to judge. First priority was to check the international travellers and isolate them in own houses. Today it is even if they enter, they should not spread. Strategy has changed over time and now it is to ensure no community spread. An expert from the Centre, the Rapid Response Team, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine and AIIMS have analysed the pandemic in the city. All say our system is working well and there is no lacuna. The RRT clearly mentioned the 5-6 things which helped us contain the spread. Early testing, isolation and treatment has led to lesser mortality. Early isolation has come through contact tracing and quarantining.

It is happening all over India. There are super spreaders (infect more than 10) and spreaders (more than 5). Nagpur has just six super spreaders and eight spreaders. The city’s 390-odd cases have come from just 14 cases. Had everyone followed lockdown properly and not stepped out of their houses, the numbers would have been fewer. Initially, there was lot of resistance in data collecting too. Through contact tracing, the numbers went up. If only the first person would have told us about having fever and travel history, he could have been treated and not many would have turned positive. If unchecked positive cases mix with others, they will obviously transmit. Even though Mominpura and Satranjipura are still a problem, we have been able to cut off the thread with mass quarantine in government institutions.

My team is constantly collecting data on those having fever, any ailment and coming in contact with positive persons. But information is being hidden. The team members have been abused, thrown out, their papers torn. Yet, we are going the extra mile to convince them. All we are asking is name, age, ailment, cough and nothing else. Unless I get information, how can I quarantine or isolate more people. Had I not followed contact tracing, quarantine and testing, the administration would have been at fault. But our systems are in place and working well. Even after identifying the contacts, they did not want to go to quarantine centres. Can you imagine what the numbers would have been had we not quarantined people from Satranjipura and Mominpura? Perhaps, far worse than bigger cities.

We have always followed the guidelines which said that more than one person can be put in a single room and 5-10 in a bigger room. The only parameter to be observed was 1 metre distance between beds, which we followed. If I have single rooms, I will happily offer. Nagpur has the luxury of having MLA Hostel which has many rooms. I am not breaching any guidelines of ICMR, health ministry or governments.

The suspects behaved irresponsibly by mingling freely. The administration cannot keep tab on each and everyone. One of two friends who were kept in a single room tested positive. No one before or after did. If the room is the source, why didn’t others? All rooms are disinfected many times. As far as food goes, the additional municipal commissioner himself tasted the food at different centres and found it okay. The complaints came only from MLA Hostel that too after the old vendor got changed. After NMC took charge of quarantining, we changed the vendor and now get three meals plus tea for Rs160.

If I act taking into consideration how people will react, I will never be able to take a decision. Never done it in my life. I only consider the necessity, and if it is legally and morally allowed. My objective is to save Nagpur from community spread and contain the positive cases. If am not able to do it, I am failing in my duty.

I hope they will be on my side.

I am very forthright. There is very thin line between being forthright and arrogant. I make sure I don’t cross it. If something is not doable I will say so. People may not like me for saying it, but it is the truth.

This is an evolving and dynamic situation. Nobody can predict what will happen tomorrow, how the virus will behave and who it will infect. As the situation changes, decision will be taken. It is not a question of nine days, 1-2 days or two months. What is happening now is important. Last week, there were three deaths, two were out of non-containment zones. It means they got infected somewhere outside. Then look at the numbers, the positives are increasing. We are okay with the spikes as we have picked up people and quarantined them. But I cannot confidently say Mominpura or Gaddigodam are safe. Once the transmission is halted, then we can say we are ready to move on. I know the virus will not disappear. But we can prevent community spread by usage of masks, Covid distancing, sanitization etc. The government has taken a staggered approach.

The two current hotspots — Mominpura and Gaddigodam — are the reason. If we open up non-containment zones, many activities will be permitted. People will start moving. Plus, there are travellers coming into the city. Transmission chances are very high. The coming nine days will help us know if there are any more hotspots. A lot of test results are awaited. That the primary contacts are in quarantine centres is a good thing. Home quarantine is not strictly being followed. Asymptomatics are testing positive. These issues made me put in the request to the government. I will be happy to be proved wrong. But there is a possibility of a spike and we don’t want casualties.

I will apprise the government at the appropriate time. As of today, I cannot commit to anything.

Yes. There will be difference of opinion and there are ways to resolve it. I will take a decision based on my judgment. It might fail and I am ready to accept that. Many restrictions have gone and there will be more changes too. Right now the lockdown is up to May 31. Hope things improve and we can give more relaxations.

Nagpur should be ready to scale up facilities in case there is a spike. A Covid care centre with 5,000 beds can come up at Radha Soami Satsang on Kalmeshwar road. The state government has said that 80% of private hospitals should be reserved for Covid treatment. I said the same thing in one of my earlier orders.

The numbers have gone up. Our focus will be on containment and non-containment zones.

For a city of 30 lakh, Nagpur lacks a good and big civic hospital. I hope to construct a 500-bed civic hospital in city before my tenure ends. Meanwhile, I am creating five dedicated Covid health centres which will have a corporate look. They will be ready in a week. I would have been much happier if I got constructive criticism than baseless; happier if team would have worked cohesively. But I understand this is how organizations work. As I head the organization, failure is mine and success is that of the team.