MahaMetro's Casual Approach Poses Health Risk To Citizens, Says Pune Municipal Corporation

The Pune Municipal Corporation has written a letter to MahaMetro officials complaining about entry denial to PMC officials at construction sites, who went there for routine inspection of potential mosquito breeding spots and to spray and fog medicines at open places. The incident has sparked a blame game between two big government departments amid the widespread Zika virus scare.

PMC health officials said such surprise inspections bring reality to light that whether people working at metro sites are following the norms or not and it may risk their own lives. They also added that the process of accessing these sites has proved frustrating and time-consuming due to MahaMetro's casual approach.

Potential sites for mosquito breeding:

The PMC has marked MahaMetro's construction sites at Shaniwar Peth, Kasba Peth, Mandai, and Swargate as potential zones for breeding of mosquitoes. To deal with it, the department has launched extensive spraying and fogging drives and have been continuously urging people to support them in beating chances of widespread of Zika virus.

PMC alleged that denial of entry at metro sites may impact their fight against the Zika virus.

Residents of the area had also reported about MahaMetro construction sites being potential mosquito breeding grounds and PMC inspection was prompted following their complaints.

PMC officials also marked a few places at the MahaMetro sites where accumulation of rainwater was spotted, which may turn into mosquito breeding spots.

What MahaMetro said:

Reacting to the incident, MahaMetro's Public Relations executive director, Hemant Sonwane, said he was not aware of any instance where PMC health workers were denied entry. He admitted the possibility of rainwater accumulation near Metro construction sites, adding that metro officials will cooperate with PMC in the fight against the deadly Zika virus.

"The PMC should have informed us in advance so that we could have authorised their activities. Security guards might have been denied permission due to health risks at construction sites and a lack of safety equipment. Once we receive the permission letter from the PMC, we will grant them access to the premises," Sonawane said.