Resident infected by COVID-19 in Mumbai's Dharavi dies, building sealed

A 46-year-old resident of Dharavi area of Mumbai who had contracted coronavirus died on Wednesday (April 1) evening, prompting the civic authorities to seal the building where he lived.A 46-year-old resident of Dharavi area of Mumbai who had contracted coronavirus died on Wednesday (April 1) evening, prompting the civic authorities to seal the building where he lived.

The man, who lived in a building constructed under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme, had no foreign travel history, said a health official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

After he died at nearby government-run Sion Hospital, around 300 tenements in the building and 30 shops were cordoned off by police.

Residents of the building were quarantined at home. They will be tested for the virus on Thursday (April 2).

The deceased had a garment shop at AKG Nagar in Dharavi, the official said.

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The police faced stone-pelting as they tried to disperse a crowd that had gathered in the area after learning about the man’s death, an official said. A group of people started arguing with the policemen and some of them started throwing stones, he said.

Nobody was injured in the incident. The police registered a case against unidentified persons, he added.

The man’s death has come as a reason for more concern since Dharavi, a densely-populated slum, has more than a million people living in an area of five sq. km in cramped huts, open sewers, and dirty lanes. Dharavi is famous for being one of the largest slums in Asia.

Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Metropolitan Corporation (BMC) has identified a total of 145 ‘containment zones’, where either cases of COVID-19 were detected or people suspected of infection lived.

Mumbai has recorded over 180 coronavirus cases and about a dozen deaths of COVID-19 patients so far.

(With inputs from agencies)