Odisha News Today Bureau:
Continuing its fight against COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has included the COVID-19 testing for the inmates of the Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH).
The effort, which started at the three SUH of Ganganagar, Bhimpur and Chandrasekharpur yesterday, continued today at SUH Ghatikia. While today the COVID tests were done on 21 inmates, yesterday the test was done on 102 inmates of the three SUH. The mobile COVID testing van from BMC and Capital Hospital conducted the tests of the SUH inmates. In Chandrasekharpur centre the inmates went to the nearby testing facility to get their tests done.
Currently the city has eight SUH spread across the city. While the SUH facilities at Ganganagar, Bhimpur, Chandrasekharpur, Malisahi, Ashok Nagar and Social Equity Centre are managed by social service organization Odisha Patita Uddhar Samiti, the SUH at Ghatikia and Baramunda are managed by social service organization Vikas. It is learnt that the rest of the SUH and their inmates will be coveted by COVID-19 tests subsequently.
It can be mentioned here out of the 102 tested yesterday 24 from Chandrasekharpur were women as the SUH is having women-only inmates. At Ganganagar and Chandrasekharpur old age and mentally challenged persons are staying under the supervision of OPUS,
Octogenarian Sailabala Mohanty (82) of SUH Chandrasekharpur said “during this pandemic situation when every individual is worried about the Corona virus, the step taken by the BMC authorities to conduct tests for the inmates of SUH is a welcome step and it proves the sensitive and responsible attitude of the civic body towards the needy people.’’
Arikshita Raula (70) from Ganganagar SUH is very happy. He said “we feel proud that the city administration also thinks about our well-being at this pandemic situation as the entire administrative mechanism is extremely busy with the COVID control exercise.’’
It can be mentioned here that on August 17 had organized a special testing camp in the State Capital for differently-abled people as part of BMC’s disability-friendly response to the COVID-19 crisis. The testing camp was organized at Gopabandhu Leprosy Colony in Buddha Nagar slum area. More than 72 differently-abled people turned up to undergo the Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests. Among the people tested there were elderly persons, people with disability and leprosy affected.
It would be pertinent to mention here that BMC has made special arrangements to organize tests for markets, journalists, police and resident welfare associations to cover majority of the population or those having any symptoms or any suspected proximity with COVID-19 positive cases.