Mumbai: Pawandham gets nod to reopen COVID-19 centre

Pawandham COVID Centre had been forcibly shut by the BMC last month

In the wake of the growing number of novel Coronavirus cases, the BMC has instructed Pawandham, the Jain temple at Mahavir Nagar in Kandivli West, to once again set up the COVID-19 centre. The civic body had asked the management to shut down the facility just last month.

According to the BMC's letter to the Pawandham management, the COVID-19 centre at the temple will remain operational till October 31 and admit only asymptomatic patients without any comorbidities. However, the civic body said it won't pay the management to run the facility as it charges the patients. Run by parliamentarian Gopal Shetty, over 850 COVID-19 patients were successfully treated here.

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Shetty said, "I am happy that the BMC allowed us to restart the COVID-19 centre. Last month, it was ordered to not admit new patients. I have demanded that the BMC either take this centre under their control and provide free treatment to COVID-19 patients, or support the management financially. This was the best centre in Mumbai."

BMC Assistant Commissioner Bhagyashree Kapse of R-central ward told mid-day that they allowed the Pawandham management to restart the centre after receiving a request from Shetty. "However, we won't finance this COVID-19 centre as we did not need it. We already have a sufficient number of COVID-19 facilities in the city. Pawandham centre is charging patients Rs 1,000 per day."

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