Stricter norms for Kolkata hotspots expected

Kolkata: West Bengal's largest civic body Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is gearing up to tighten its noose in all the Covid-19 hotspots and isolation zones across the city to tackle the recent spurt in Corona cases.

The KMC authorities are likely to send a communication regarding the issue to the state secretariat Nabanno on Tuesday to impose stringent Covid guidelines in all the 18 hotspots and nearly 2,000 isolation zones in Kolkata.

"We are trying to impose strict guidelines in all the containment zones in Kolkata so that the situation does not deteriorate further.

"We will keep a watch so that everyone wears masks while stepping out and maintaining at least 5-ft distance from each other at a public place, especially in the hotspots and isolation zones," KMC chief administrator and West Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said.

Sources said that special monitoring drives would be carried out in high rise complexes and standalone apartments to control any further spread.

"By God's grace the rate of Covid-19 infections is still under control in Kolkata and the situation is far better here as compared to any other metropolitan cities in India," Hakim said.

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Dilip Ghosh, however, alleged that Unlock 2.0 guidelines are not being followed in Kolkata.

"We can't see any difference at all. We have not been able to differentiate which is actually the normal area and which one is a containment zone in Kolkata. No Covid-19 guidelines were imposed anywhere in the state," Ghosh said.