A plan to mass-test people living in the Padarayanapura COVID-19 containment zone hit another roadblock on Wednesday, when dozens of people turned out to block the move.
Nearly one hundred residents of Ward 137 Rayapuram, which is located adjacent to Padarayanapura gathered in front of the testing site at JJ Nagar General Hospital to oppose plans to test residents from Padarayanapura for COVID-19.
"Our ward is made up primarily of daily-wage workers and pourakarmikas. Bringing potentially infected people from the Padarayanapura containment zone to be tested here in a ward which is green could potentially result in an outbreak here," said the local corporator Shashikala Gopalkrishna.
"There is another hospital closer to Padarayanapura that can be used. Why they opted for a hospital in Rayapuram is a mystery," she added.
Local residents expressed horror and anger that a testing centre for the Padarayanapura cluster would be done near their homes.
"The hospital is a designated fever clinic, yes, but we have never had a single case in this area. What if the disease breaks out here? First of all, our economic situation is precarious. If a containment zone is established here, it will create major problems, not only for in terms of health but also economics," said a shopkeeper whose store is within sight of the hospital.
"We have sent a letter to the BBMP commissioner asking that the testing site be moved elsewhere," Shashikala added.
However, a source within the BBMP said there was no possibility of moving the site elsewhere.
"We have put in much time and effort to set up at the testing site at JJ Nagar General Hospital. We will not be shifting it," the source said.
The source added that there was little risk of the surrounding Rayapuram community being infected. "In the containment zone, people will not be made to walk there. They will be brought to the hospital in small groups by ambulance and sent back by ambulance. There is no possibility of the infection spreading," he said.