Rural Ganjam shows dist’s urban centres how to tackle virus spread

Bhubaneswar: The urban centres in Ganjam seem to be the most affected by novel coronavirus compared to the district’s rural areas. While 62 per cent of the urban areas are affected by the virus, it is only 14 per cent in villages.
As per official data, as many as 174 of the 280 wards in 18 urban local bodies (ULB), including Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC), have reported positive cases.However, as many as 2,753 of the 3,195 villages in 22 blocks are free of infection, indicating the fact that rural areas have done well in containing the spread of the virus.
The figures suggest that around 86 per cent of the villages are free of infection despite the fact that around 80 per cent of over 3 lakh migrants who have returned to Ganjam have their homes in rural areas.
“Low case load in the rural areas is a result of successful management of the temporary medical camps, which were used to accommodate migrants who had returned from various areas. Our sarpanches have done a commendable job in ensuring quarantine of almost all returnees. There were some issues in the urban areas, because of which the numbers there are quite high,” Ganjam district collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said.
In urban areas, barring a few local bodies like Gopalpur, Kodala, Ganjam and Polasara, more than 50 per cent wards of the remaining ULBs have reported positive cases. In BeMC, the largest commercial hub in southern Odisha, Covid-19 cases have been reported from all the 40 wards.
While only 9 per cent wards in Gopalpur NAC have positive cases, other NACs with low case loads are Kodala (15 per cent), Ganjam (33 per cent) and Polasara (37 per cent).
A senior government official, overseeing the Covid-19 management in the district for the last four months, said one has to understand the social structure and accept the reality behind the surge in cases.
“The clumsy and overcrowded housing pattern and markets in the urban areas of Ganjam suits the virus spread. Initially, there were some lacunae by the administration in ensuring social distancing, which is also a reason behind the rise in cases,” said the official.
Of the 7,634 cases reported in the district, most have come from urban areas. The district has 3,076 active cases as on Friday.
Sunil Kota, a senior health expert from Ganjam said, “Most of the popular markets, especially in Berhampur, the commercial capital of the region, receive thousands of people every day, which could be a reason behind the surge of cases. Also, people initially did not adhere to social distancing and wear masks, which might have helped in spread of virus.”
Jayant Panda, a senior doctor of the SCB Medical College, who is also the technical consultant to the state government said, “Rural people are more disciplined in terms of adhering to social distancing norms and taking precautions than urban population. This is the reason behind the spread of virus in urban areas.”
EoM