Gujarat: Congress corporator and ASI die of Covid-19; toll at 3,364

Harun Dakora (55), the Congress corporator from Ward No. 16 of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), died while undergoing treatment for Covid-19 in the dedicated Covid-19 hospital on the campus of state government-run Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay (PDU) Hospital in Rajkot.

“Sincere, committed, honest and a Congressman to the core, Harun Dakora, the Congress corporator from Ward No. 16 of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation died in civil hospital due to coronavirus. All corporators of the RMC and Rajkot city Congress family are very sad to share this news,” Vashram Sagathiya, Leader of Opposition in the RMC, said about Dakora.

Dakora was at the forefront of community fight in Jungleshwar since the first case of Covid-19 was reported from this locality of Rajkot on March 19, sensitising the community about the need for remaining in isolation in their homes and also acted as a bridge between 97 families and the government when the area was declared a containment zone.

While Dr Pankaj Buch, medical superintendent of PDU Hospital, was not available for a comment, Sagathiya said that Dakora had tested positive around 10 days ago and was in home isolation initially. “Doctors advised him to get himself admitted to a hospital and therefore, he was admitted to civil hospital two-three days ago,” said the Congress leader.

Mayor Bina Acharya as well as two other Congress corporators also contracted the infection but they have recovered. Rajya Sabha member Abhay Bhardwaj and Congress MLA from Rajkot (south), Govind Patel have also tested positive and are undergoing treatment.

In Vadodara, where over 10,500 cases have been reported till date and the death toll stands at over 175, Arvind Thorat, ASI with Vadodara city police, who was recently awarded the Silver President’s Medal for outstanding performance, died on Monday, days after recovering from Covid-19, a police statement said.

Thorat, who was known for his sharp investigating skills, had been admitted to a private hospital after he complained of uneasiness on Saturday. Earlier in September, Thorat had tested positive and underwent treatment for the same. He had joined duty in the control room after recovering from Covid-19 but developed shortness of breath and was rushed to the hospital, where he died during treatment.

Vadodara Municipal Corporation Medical Officer of Health Dr Devesh Patel said that Thorat had undergone a second Covid-19 test after he was admitted to the hospital again and had tested negative.

As Ahmedabad continues to report nearly 180 cases daily as per the district administration, with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) reporting over 150 cases each day, AMC in a two-day drive over the weekend, sealed seven establishments, including five eateries, a hair salon and a stone business, for not following social distancing norms and for not wearing masks.

Apart from the sealed units, 785 establishments across the city were found to be not following Covid norms during surprise checks spanning over three days. From these 785 units, penalty worth Rs 7.85 lakh was collected by the AMC. A majority of these offender units were in the southern zone of AMC (366) followed by the north zone (80).