The BMC Commissioner gives a peek into the city municipal body's exemplary management of the second wave and how they are prepping should there be another surge of cases
Iqbal Singh Chahal, BMC commissioner; Image: Punit PARANJPE/AFP
Despite the initial chaos, the ‘Mumbai model’ of Covid-19 management worked well in the face of the surging second wave and earned praise from the Supreme Court as well. Planning, delegation and launching the right initiatives, like 24x7 war rooms equipped with doctors and trained staff, worked well in the favour of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). But the BMC isn’t looking to be complacent, instead it has already started preparing for the third wave by setting up more jumbo centres, and training paediatricians, since children are expected to be more vulnerable to the third wave. In a freewheeling conversation with Forbes India, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal talks about learnings from previous waves, opening up of local trains, vaccination plans for slum-dwellers and tackling the next wave with monsoon setting in. Edited excerpts:Q. How is the BMC planning to scale up infrastructure as experts suggest the third wave will mostly impact children?