In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in Pune, the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Ltd. (PSCDCL), in association with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), has developed an integrated dashboard to coordinate its fight against the contagion.
PSCDCL has also mapped each case using GIS, tracking healthcare operations at the city’s Naidu Infectious Disease Hospital and drawing up a containment plan using heat-mapping technologies. For this, it has converted its high-tech command centre into a ‘war room’ from where authorities can monitor operations to check the spread of the contagion.
“The integrated dashboard will be monitoring quarantine facilities, track the health of suspected patients and their contacts placed under home quarantine,” said Rubal Agarwal, additional municipal commissioner and chief executive officer of PSCDCL.
The disaster management cell of the PMC will also provide help to quarantined people through a helpline.
“The PSCDCL is using Geospatial Information System for tracking and monitoring the areas and create buffer zones where patients are diagnosed positive with the COVID-19 infection. This helps to implement the containment plan as per government guidelines. The mapping of the containment zones will reflect in the dashboard,” Ms. Agarwal said.
The mobile application, which is called Sayyam, has been developed to provide comprehensive online support to quarantined people, said an official from the PMC’s IT cell.
“The PSCDCL has also provided free Wi-Fi to those kept in the isolation centres. A massive awareness campaign is being carried out through social messaging on VMD screens, social media and the PMC website. Citizens can get updates on pmc.gov.in/covid,” the official said.
The command centre already has the advanced technology in place to see various functions on screen at a click, so with some tweaking it could leverage the technology in supporting the war against the virus.
PSCDCL had constructed the command and control centre three years ago to monitor various smart elements, such as variable message display screens, public announcement systems, emergency call boxes, municipal functions including street lighting, monitoring of bus movements and CCTV cameras for security. As the coronavirus hit the city, this command and control centre has diversified.
Meanwhile, the PMC has opened relief camps at 15 civic-run schools to halt the exodus of thousands of migrant workers from the city and provide them with food and shelter.
Ms. Agarwal said the schools had been converted into temporary shelter homes to accommodate the workers, while stating that social distancing norms were being strictly maintained in these places.
