45 villages in Thane rural stay Covid free

The Mhasa village in Murbad taluka, Thane rural, one of the villages that never had a single Covid case, has fool proof system in place to maintain status quo. They allotted different days of the week for different kinds of shops to open so that all opened once a week. These included groceries, vegetable vendors, farming tools and seeds-related shops.

This has helped in maintaining social distancing and ensuring that people do not step out in large numbers. Moreover, they conducted regular awareness drives and ensured isolation was strictly followed by those visiting the village.

Like Mhasa, there are around 45 villages in Thane rural, mostly comprising villages from Murbad and Shahapur taluka that did not have a single Covid positive case till date.

Apart from adopting all the practices shared by the zilla parishad, some of these villages have implemented proper health care facilities in advance that have helped the respective villages to manage well despite the pandemic.

Sanjay Asawar, Gram Sevak, Mhasa village, said, “We kept a tab on each household. Teams were allotted to every area and they visited all the houses, met every family member to know their health. This helped keep a track on anyone with any illness. They were immediately taken to the health centre and related medication was provided. Everyone was told by the social service volunteers about the pandemic situation and the rules to be followed. They were even taught how to wash hands for 30 seconds.”

Chandrakant Pawar, deputy chief executive officer, zilla parishad, Thane, said, “From regular sanitization to awareness and social distancing norms, everything has been the same for all villages within Thane zilla parishad. However, these 45 villages ensured to follow these norms in a more disciplined manner. They are now gaining the benefits as there isn’t a single positive case in these villages.

“We did not adopt any inhuman practices like isolating outside the village for those coming in, awareness was created regarding the pandemic and the rules to be maintained. Strict isolation was followed by those who travelled to different places during this period. It was the cooperation of the gram sevaks, anganwadi teachers and volunteers who diligently conducted awareness and screening camps across the zilla parishad jurisdiction. We distributed sanitizers, soaps and arsenic tablets to every village, asked them to ensure that hygiene and cleanliness were followed in all villages,” added Pawar.

Similarly, Vehlonde village in Shahapur taluka had a doctor visit it and conduct regular health camps. They also trained the anganwadi volunteers in screening and awareness camps. “We ensured that a regular temperature chart of every family member in each household was maintained. Temperature and oxygen levels were monitored regularly. Our village does not have any migrant population. Everyone has his own field for farming and a majority of the population involve tribals. So, mostly everyone is self-sufficient in his own household in terms of basic food essentials,” said Jitesh Vishe, deputy sarpanch, Vehlonde village.

“Moreover, we have set up CCTVs across the village through which we ensure that social distancing norms are followed. We also have a centralised announcement system with speakers across the village. This helps in making announcements without going to every doorstep during the pandemic,” added Vishe.