Coronavirus Pune: Anand Nagar slum dwellers protest against containment

On Monday, residents of Chinchwad slums took to the streets to protest against being a containment zone. The people also pelted stones at the police force designated in the slums, hoping to be allowed to go out of the region to earn a living.

As most of the residents of the slum work as labourers, these people have not been able to work and are struggling to find means to sustain a livelihood. Anand Nagar slums, located in Pimpri-Chinchwad area of Pune, has been a containment zone for many days due to the high number of COVID-19 positive cases recorded. Densely populated, the area has till date reported more than 200 positive cases.

The incident took place in the afternoon after a few residents began protesting, claiming that most of them are labourers, and needed to go out for work. The residents demanded to be allowed to find work and be given sufficient resources to sustain a livelihood.

The situation worsened after a few of them began pelting stones at the local police booth and damaged chairs, barricades and a few vehicles around the spot. Soon, a team of police officials arrived at the location and resorted to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. Police teams and State Reserve Police Force have now been deployed in the area.

Pune city has been seeing a surge in the number of coronaviruses cases as the state enters its fifth phase of the lockdown, Mission Begin Again. Accordingly, to the latest guidelines, only essentials shops are allowed to open in containment zones and residents are not allowed to leave the area.