Advertisement

Ex-MMRC MD Ashwini Bhide and MMRC commissioner N Ramaswami appointed to the BMC to combat coronavirus in the city


Ex-MMRC MD Ashwini Bhide and MMRC commissioner N Ramaswami appointed to the BMC to combat coronavirus in the city
SHARES

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has appointed N Ramaswami and Ashwini Bhide to the BMC to lead Mumbai’s fight against the coronavirus. Bhide was previously the managing director of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) and was involved in an ideological tussle with Shiv Sena over the Aarey metro car shed project last year. Bhide was removed from her post in January this year in what was said to be a “routine” change. 


After taking the Chief Minister’s office, Uddhav Thackeray’s first move was to stop work at the Aarey metro car shed, which was also a campaign promise of the Shiv Sena leading into the assembly elections in 2019.


Bhide will now be tasked with setting up a new coronavirus war room which will work in tandem with the existing disaster control room. The appointment of Bhide makes it clear that all the ideological differences of the past have been left behind with the focus firmly positioned on combating the virus collectively. 


Also Read - Mumbai Metro MD Ashwini Bhide Transferred, Ranjit Deol To Replace Her


N Ramaswami was previously the Commissioner of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and will be responsible for upgrading existing health infrastructure while also leveraging the city’s civic medical colleges to hire more doctors in order to fight the virus. 


Maharashtra has a total of 230 cases as of March 31, and the state has now overtaken Kerala which has 215 positive cases reported. Maharashtra has seen a total of 8 deaths so far. While the lockdown has been observed around the country, a few cases have popped up wherein people were seen to be blatantly ignoring orders of staying at home and practicing social distancing. 

The 21-day lockdown is expected to “flatten the curve”, an idea that is being pursued by several countries of the world to curb the virus’ transmission across densely populated cities. The Central Government has categorically dismissed rumors of the 21-day lockdown being extended further. 


RELATED TOPICS
Advertisement
MumbaiLive would like to send you latest news updates