News: Residents’ associations take charge of fight against Covid-19 in condos, gated societies-20-04-2021
Amid the rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in the city, residents’ welfare associations of several condominiums and gated societies have effected restrictions in their societies to limit the spread of infections. The measures range from limiting the entry of visitors and restricting entry to parks to banning renovation work and walking pets in common areas.
At Carlton Estate, a condominium in DLF-5, entry of property dealers, potential buyers or tenants, and all renovation work has been banned till April 26.
Pawan Tharwani, the president of the Carlton Estate Condominium Association (CECA) said that depending on the number of Covid-19 cases, the RWA will take a call next week on extending the ban. “Seeing a large number of cases in the condominium, which led to one of the towers being made a containment zone, the RWA considered various measures to limit the spreading of Covid-19. We realised that nearly 100-130 visitors could be stopped daily by banning the entry of property dealers, potential buyers or tenants, and all renovation related work till April 26. This may be extended depending on the situation,” said Tharwani.
He said that there were positive cases in at least 25 apartments in the condominium.
At Fresco Apartments, a gated society in Nirvana Country, the number of visitors has been capped, with no more than five outsiders allowed in a house. Besides, gyms and squash courts were also shut until further notice.
The RWA has also set up a three-stage sanitation process for domestic helps and vendors — wash hands with soap at a basin located at the entrance and sanitise their hands twice, once at the entrance and the other before entering the tower.
“The main reason behind limiting visitors to just five per house is for ensuring that no large gatherings are taking place and minimising the chances of people contracting the coronavirus disease through interaction. We have also closed our gyms and squash courts while our in-house sports academies only allow entry of one resident at any given point for training purposes,” said Nilesh Tandon, president, Fresco Apartments.
Tandon said that there are currently 35 active cases in the housing society.
In the township of DLF Phases 1 and 2, the RWA has restricted the entry of residents in parks. Residents walking their pets must do so only outside their houses and cannot venture into lanes or vacant spaces nearby for the purpose, the RWA members said.
“Only our horticulture staff is allowed inside the parks in DLF Phases 1 and 2. The security staff is constantly keeping vigil over such restrictions. Our main aim is to limit the potential areas where large-scale public interaction can occur and restrict the rising number of cases in our township,” said Dhruv Bansal, spokesperson, Qutub Enclave residents’ welfare association that looks after both DLF Phase 1 and DLF Phase 2.
There are at least 50 active Covid-19 cases in DLF Phases 1 and 2, said Bansal.
On April 7, Gurugram deputy commissioner Yash Garg had issued an order to RWAs directing them to take actions that encourage residents to stay indoors and discourage social events.
