Blaming the opposition leaders for flouting Covid-19 norms and leading to a resurgence of infection in Mumbai, Mayor Kishori Pednekar has said that they are setting bad examples and pushing the city and Maharashtra state towards a second lockdown.

People will not forgive them
 
Emphasizing the 3T formula of Tracing, Testing and Treatment of Covid patients is continuing and public toilets are sanitized three to four times a day, Pednekar said the opposition leaders are doing doublespeak by not wearing masks and at the same time trolling the state’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
 
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“The problem is that opposition political leaders are not wearing masks and yet they troll us on the other side. The virus is very dangerous. They should understand that their leader must follow basic Covid norms. The BMC has only recently in its advisory said to follow basic Covid-19 norms or else there could be another lockdown again. As the opposition, if they want to push Mumbai and Maharashtra towards lockdown then the people of this state will not forgive them. ‘I will not wear a mask or follow Covid norms’ is an example they are setting on purpose. These political leaders are idolized by many people yet they are adamant about not wearing a mask.”

Pednekar was speaking to Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now, in the live webcast of the Visionary Talk series held by the public policy and governance analysis platform.
 
She said that the handling of Covid-19 in Maharashtra and especially in the congested city of Mumbai by the MVA government is a political victory. Without taking credit, she said chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has proved that to achieve good and effective results you have to work together with your allies. Though critics said Thackeray had no previous administrative experience, yet he has done commendable work along with the allies, NCP and Congress, in the MVA government, she said. “Not only is the CM a good leader but for the first time, the chief minister of Maharashtra is born in the city of Mumbai. He has proved that he is people’s leader.”

She said, starting at the top with BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal to the bottom with BMC ward boys and laborers, the police, civil society, political leaders and representatives, everyone worked together in a chain to control the virus and infection numbers in big slum pockets of Worli, Dharavi, K West and K East wards.

Hailing it as a collective victory for every Mumbaikar as well as of Maharashtrian, the mayor added that Chahal walked 4-5 km inside slums pockets and visited homes to get first-hand experience of the Covid situation. To keep their families safe from infection BMC ward officials did not even go home for three-four months together and lived out of their offices. With only one lockdown as compared to the rest of the world having second, third and fourth lockdowns, Mumbai has been able to do unparalleled work to control infection.     

Responding to a question on recurring issues of waterlogging and potholes in Mumbai when Shiv Sena has been in power at the BMC for the last 30 years, Pednekar, a Sena leader, said the issue of potholes is not limited to the city of Mumbai, and work to fix potholes is under process. She called out to the opposition to stop making false allegations and assured that water logging in the city has reduced and the condition of roads is better than last year. She added that BMC has even been awarded for providing 99% pure drinking water to the city.
 
“Shiv Sena has always been connected to Mumbai. During the pandemic, Shiv Sena has worked really hard to help the people of Mumbai. You cannot take Shiv Sena out from the heart of Mumbai. Similarly, people of Mumbai are at the heart of Shiv Sena,” she said.
 
Giving her views on the state budget presented this week in the assembly, she said the budget overall covers the basic elements for the development of the state. “Though India is a male-dominated country this government has taken care of women’s development as well. We have reduced stamp duty by 1% for women in Maharashtra.”