PUNE: Even before Pune detected its first Covid-19 case in a husband-wife duo early last year, the residents of Palash Cooperative Housing Society in Wakad were lockdown-ready. By the second week of March, they had chosen vendors to deliver essentials like vegetables directly from the farm to their society. They even managed to get cash delivered at their doorsteps through ‘mobile ATMs’.
Chairman Kiran Vadgama said she was in Goa in February last year where she met some international tourists who told her about restrictions being implemented in their respective countries due to Covid-19 spread. “I realised that some curbs might be imposed in India too. So, the first thing we did was to choose four vendors to deliver fresh vegetables and fruits, among others, directly from the farm to the society,” she said.
Homemaker Rachana Raul said the society members also kept a close watch on the happenings across the globe. “So, even before the lockdown was imposed, we started stocking up on rations and told our domestic helps to do the same. We paid them their full salaries for the lockdown period and also extended monetary help to various organisations working for migrants. My son donated all his savings in a piggy bank for buying rations for the police staff,” she said.
The residents followed the government guidelines and barred entry/exit of outsiders, except for those involved in essential services, during the lockdown months. “Soon after the curbs were relaxed, delivery boys were allowed inside the society. We also sanitised the entire society from time to time and ensured RT-PCR tests of the staffers every 45-60 days,” Vadgama said.
The society now has almost 100% of its eligible population vaccinated with at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine. And about 60% of its residents have already got both the doses.
“All these steps and more helped us keep Covid cases restricted to just 54 since the pandemic started in the city early last year,” Vadgama said, adding that the society members have donated 50 smartphones to the domestic workers and others to ensure easy access to online education for their children.
Sambhu Ghasita, another resident, said, “We were always ready to help out in whatever way possible in our capacity. Whenever a staffer was sick or in need, we helped him or her without having a second thought.”
Swati Korde, an educationist and environmentalist, said the society members did what any citizen would have done during the testing times. “I also designed a special composter for Covid-affected residents so that they could keep all their wet garbage in it. This ensured that the housekeeping staffers didn’t come in contact with the infected,” she said.
The society has many feats under its belt, including its sustainable development model, for which it has won the best society award from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation multiple times.
