Fewer Covid-19 positive cases in south Kolkata containment zones

KOLKATA: Containment zones in south Kolkata and its suburbs are in a much better position compared to its north and central Kolkata counterparts. Spread over 84 wards, the zones in the south have reported fewer Covid-19 positive cases. Most of these cases are confined to some clusters, a feature which is absent in north and central Kolkata Covid zones. In south, standalone buildings, rather than the slums (except in select areas), have become Covid hotspots, said a section of KMC officials.
According to KMC headquarters and Lalbazar sources, there are now about 140-odd containment zones lying between wards 61 and 144 that cover the entire length of south Kolkata and the added areas. While south and its added areas comprising 84 wards have 140 containment zones, only 60 north and central Kolkata wards have 146 such zones. More than the number of containment zones, the situation in north and central Kolkata is worrying in terms of number of cases and their geographical spread.
The good news is that when compared to central and north, where merely one ward at present has no active Covid cases, there are 17 such wards — in Tollygunge, Jadavpur and Behala West — that have no active cases. Four more wards — most importantly one in Parnasree that had reported the very first cases of Covid in southwest Kolkata — are now in the green zone.
“At least three containment zones in Behala and Haridevpur — Diamond City South, BL Saha Road and Sakherbazar — are now in the green zone. There are merely 13 active cases in Behala that has a poulation of 10.5 lakh. Similarly, Briji, Baisnabghata and Patuli are now green zones,” ponted out a joint CP at Lalbazar. “We will wait for KMC to release the official revised containment list. We believe there will be several shifts and the number of containment zones is likely to go down further,” he added. Sources said some more names were struck off the containment-zone list that was prepared on Saturday.
KMC, though, says the danger is not over yet, Garden Reach is fast emerging as an area of concern. Garden Reach and Metiabruz have added 38 new cases in the past 10 days. Added to this, one-off containment zones have sprung up in Anandapur-Mukundapur. This apart, certain zones on Panditya Road and Bhowanipore (Bishop Lefroy Road & Lee Road) that had managed to turn into green zones are back in the red,” said a KMC official.
The spread of the disease towards some of the posh south Kolkata locations — like Lord Sinha Road and Hindustan Park — has been alarming for senior citizens, some of them renowned faces of Kolkata. The addition of newer zones in Purba Putiary, Haridevpur and Sarsuna is also an indication that these areas sharing their borders with South 24 Parganas’ Narendrapur-Sonarpur and Maheshtala are vulnerable.