With another 35 persons recently testing positive for coronavirus in a containment zone in south Delhi's Tughlakabad Extension area, the locality has turned out to be a big concern for the government, health officials and law enforcement agencies.
Some lanes have been completely sealed and the entire area is under watch now. The administration has sealed Gali No. 26, 26-B, 27 and 27-B in Tughlakabad Extension in the South-East district after three people were found having the infection.
The MP of the area, BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri, spoke to on the situation on ground and put the blame squarely on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
In a no-holds-barred attack, Bidhuri said he will give Kejriwal -1 out of 10 as far as handling the outbreak of coronavirus in the national capital was concerned.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
Q: Tughlaqabad has been one of the worst affected areas in Delhi-NCR. What is the situation on ground and as an MP of the area what are the steps you are taking?
A: Look, the steps are being taken by the authorities. But people are openly violating calls for social distancing. There were two men who were distributing materials in the area but hid possible Covid-19 connections. While the two have fled after developing fever, 65-70 families are now paying for it. They are now in isolation.
Q: Are you suggesting that violations of lockdown in the area are still taking place?
A: As long as lathi wielding police patrol the area, the residents follow the rules. The moment they are gone, people again come out.
Q: Should the lockdown be more strictly enforced by the Delhi government?
A: Arvind Kejriwal has not even issued an appeal to the Tablighi Jamaat members to get themselves checked, or any warning that if they are found to be in hiding, legal action will follow.
The Chief Ministers of all the states, the police and even the Home Ministers have issued such statements. But none has come from Kejriwal. Kejriwal is not here to serve the people, but only to do politics.
Q: But why would you say so?
A: He had recently announced that he would give ration to those from the poor strata who don't have ration cards. He gave 2,000 coupons to MLAs and MPs. Now, an MLA has 1.5 lakh voters while an MP has lakhs of voters. I have written to the Lieutenant Governor regarding this.
Q: How would you rate Kejriwal's performance during the lockdown?
A: Out of 10, I will give him -1. He has been a failure in all fronts. He failed to distribute ration. The link he issued for this purpose wasn't working for 15 days. People as of today have token numbers but can't get ration. If you want, I can provide you with such token numbers.
The migrant crisis was badly handled as Kejriwal pressurised the Chief Secretary to make the Transport Commissioner a scapegoat by running buses during lockdown. Could the Transport Commissioner send buses without the order of the Delhi government? He sent off 5-7 lakh migrants in buses without conducting any check-up.
He also failed to control the Tablighi Jamaat issue. He simply does vote bank politics. If Delhi is a hotspot today, it's because of him.
( With inputs from IANS )