Kolkata councillors conduct COVID-19 awareness drive

KOLKATA: Councillors in Kolkata Municipal Corporation have been holding public awareness campaigns in the last week, encouraging people to wear masks, avoid crowded places, and avoid crowds in markets. Many people who aren’t wearing masks provide various justifications, such as going out to buy one item or wanting to get some fresh air, according to some councillors.

When they notice the awareness vans, some people who are not wearing masks hide their faces with a piece of cloth or take the mask out of their pocket and put it on. People are also being advised to rid their premises of any waterlogging to avoid vector-borne diseases, as part of the awareness campaigns organised by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s health department. “We’re going to the markets. We’re taking a tour of our ward’s most distant roads and byways. The goal is to get the message out to everyone that the COVID-19 procedure must be followed,” said Arijit Das Thakur, Councillor for Ward 106, South Kolkata, which includes sections of Kasba and Jadavpur.

According to Arup Chakraborty, Councillor of Ward 98, which comprises neighbourhoods such as Netaji Nagar and Ranikuthi in Tollygunge on the southern outskirts, markets were targeted since people were still standing near to each other in the places to buy groceries, vegetables, fish and meat. “We’re reiterating what everyone already knows. The repetition will drive home the notion that maintaining the COVID-19 protocol is critical,” he said. Autorickshaws with two or three individuals delivering the message can be seen stationed outside markets or running through neighbourhoods with the message conveyed all over the city.

In the last 24 hours, 6867 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the city, while 22,645 new cases were reported across the state, according to the Department of Health, Government of Kolkata’s Friday bulletin. For several days, metro has been reporting on people who are still not wearing masks in public locations. Many persons told members of the team conducting the awareness drive that they had just removed the mask, according to Chaitali Chatterjee, Councillor of Ward 90 and Chairperson of borough VIII.