Despite being the largest city in South India with a population of over 1.2 crores, Bengaluru has reported only 385 cases of novel coronavirus infection to date. A tally indeed much lower than what other major cities, be it Chennai or Mumbai has reported.
As the state government receives applause from the Prime Minister for the well-handling of the chaotic pandemic situation, let's look at the 'Bengaluru model' of Covid treatment.
'Treating Covid well'
As of the reports released on Monday, June 1, major cities in India, say Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi have reported a whopping number of 15,770 cases, 40,877 cases, and 20,834 cases, respectively.
Meanwhile, 385 cases were reported in Bengaluru, of which 237 have recovered, and only 136 people are now under treatment for the virus.
According to the medical experts and government officials, the measures taken in Bengaluru were similar to other cities. It included contact tracing, tracking, testing, and treating. The difference, as they say, was in its implementation.
Measures taken by the city
The complete Herculean task of managing the pandemic crisis in the city was fully allotted to the health department, its medical experts, and the police force for ensuring strict lockdown measures.
The bureaucracy and political parties well maintained its distance from poking it into the strict control measures the department implemented over public life.
According to Dr Giridhar Babu, a member of ICMR's research task force on Epidemiology and Surveillance, and a part of Karnataka state's Technical Advisory Committee, said to the media, the freedom given to the technical committee in Karnataka is something other states should replicate.
"In Karnataka, the driving force (against Covid) was the health department. We never had an instance where they turned down our suggestions. Even if an idea was counter-intuitive, after deliberations, they implemented it. The trust placed in the experts was astonishing," he said.
BBMP and its measures
In addition to this come the timely adequate measures taken by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
From imposing a hefty fine on people as well as organisations for improper waste management amid the pandemic scenario, BBMP has announced strict guidelines to ensure the complete safety of its citizens.
The civic body has also categorised Bengaluru to some 15 centres based on the number of Covid patients there and asked the residents to segregate the Covid waste for proper further disposal of it.
