'Can Turn Into Dharavi': Delhi's Shalimar Bagh Residents Plead for Red Zone Status Amid Rising Cases

While the government is planning to ease restrictions after two months of lockdown, the residents of northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh fear the same claiming that it would result in "rapid rise" in the number of Covid-19 cases and that it should be declared as a red zone.

The residents of this area believe that if the area is not converted into a containment zone and sealed properly, it would become a big hub of cases just like Mumbai's Dharavi slum.

Delhi Residents Forum Secretary Ritesh, said, "We want a complete sealing of the area as there are already more than 100+ cases and if the restrictions are eased the same would result in converting it to a big hub of cases just like Dharavi."

Ritesh also mentioned that the continuous functioning of the nearby Azadpur Mandi is one of the causes of large number of cases in the area because most the vendors and traders working in Azadpur reside in nearby areas which include Shalimar Bagh and Model Town.

"We demand that the Azadpur Mandi be shut as because of this, people are horrified even to take one step out of their home. Conversion of the nearby Khosla Hospital into a quarantine centre is another big problem as it is located really close to residential area because of which it can potentially harm a large cluster of population," he said.

Recently, BJP councillor Tilak Raj Kataria wrote a letter to Northwest Delhi's Comissioner Sandeep Mishra requested for closure of Azadpur Mandi which is becoming a hot spot of cases. "...The Azadpur Mandi near Shalimar Bagh is becoming a hotspot of Covid-19 cases and the same should be shut down immediately."

According to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data, there are 7,233 active cases in the national capital of which 2,129 people have been discharged while 73 have died.