Mantralaya will remain shut till April 30, top state officials asked to work from home

As four people at Mantralaya test positive for the coronavirus or COVID-19, the Maharashtra Government on Tuesday directed a two-day decontamination drive of the state secretariat on April 29 and 30. 

Starting today, the Manthralaya will remain shut for the next five days and its premises are likely to open on May 4. The state government had directed the secretariat to be closed till April 30 for the decontamination drive. However, Friday is a state holiday on account of Maharashtra Day. 

The nationwide lockdown is also ending on May 3. The lockdown was earlier supposed to end on April 14 but was extended by the centre in the wake of the increasing cases of coronavirus or COVID-19. 

The Mantralaya was sanitised after three housekeeping staff and a doctor working for the emergency ambulance service tested positive for COVID-19. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s insecticide department carried out disinfection through sodium hypochlorite in Mantralaya on Tuesday, as per the orders given by Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta.  

BMC’s insecticide officer Rajan Naringrekar informed that the sanitisation has been undertaken four to five times in Mantralaya since the four cases for COVID-19 came positive. We are undertaking disinfection in the entire building and the procedure will be repeated over the next couple of days, he added. 

The disinfectant will be sprayed not just inside the building but also on the exterior to ensure proper sanitisation, a report published in the Indian Express said.  

The Maharashtra government has also made provision for the smooth functioning of essential departments. The top officials have been instructed to work from home while senior officials indulged in unavoidable office work have been asked to work from Sahyadri, which is the state guest house. 

The BMC has started contact tracing while thermal scanners have been installed at the security gate of the Mantralaya. Moreover, the COVID-19 control room, which was functional from the sixth floor of the Mantralaya will remain shut and the situation will be monitored from Varsha, the official residence of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. 

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