Queency Jain
Dealing with the COVID-19 situation in Pune, a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice GS Kulkarni observed that even after the active cases in Pune are double to that of Mumbai, still there were no ventilator beds available in the city.
Abhijit Kulkarni, the counsel of Pune Municipal Corporation said that everything was under control in the city and is feeding almost 30% of the patients from outside.
Abhijit Kulkarni explained that with an increase of beds from 4000 in February to 12000 in May, the district as of 9 May has 28,431 cases in the hospital and over 68,000 cases under home quarantine whereas around 8,000 patients were from hospitals in Pune.
After Kulkarni submitted 2 numbers with 18 lines in the 24/7 Corona Control Room, Advocate Inamdar refuted the claims saying no beds were available.
When a call was made on hand-set loudspeaker by Inamdar, it was found that there were no beds available.
Even though Kulkarni tried their best to say that Inamdar’s voice was confrontational, there was the same response when the bench asked a few doctors present during the proceeding of the call.
The bench stated that, “These matters require intense sensitivity. The commissioner should know that his job isn’t over by just filing an affidavit. The (Pune) corporation has to ensure that the people for whom the corporation exists are treated with sensitivity.”
The matter is listed for May 19.