Covid-19: Uddhav Thackeray dismisses rumours of Army being called in to handle situation in Mumbai
‘If we need more forces, we will ask for central forces in order to give some rest to our police,’ he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday dismissed speculations that the Indian Army will be deployed in Mumbai as the Covid-19 situation in the metropolis worsens, ANI reported. The city has recorded nearly 12,000 cases and more than 700 deaths so far.
“There has been a rumour for the past two to three days that the Army will be deployed in Mumbai,” Thackeray said, according to the news agency. “There is no need for Army deployment here. Whatever I have done till today, I have done by informing the citizens. You all should be disciplined and that will be enough.”
The Maharashtra chief minister added that his government will ask the Centre for additional forces only if required. “Our police force is under tremendous pressure,” Thackeray said. “If we need more forces, we will ask for central forces in order to give some rest to our police. But that will not mean that Army has been called. It will be done only if needed.”
Additional forces had been sent to the state’s neighbour Gujarat, where over 7,000 Covid-19 cases have been reported. Six companies from the Border Security Force and one company from the Central Industrial Security Force had been deployed in the state on Wednesday. Five companies were sent to Ahmedabad, a Covid-19 hotspot.
The chief minister, however, admitted that the chain of Covid-19 transmission in the state had not been broken yet, PTI reported. He added that the extension of the lockdown in the state will depend on the people. “This phase of the lockdown is very important,” he said, according to Mumbai Mirror. “Do we increase the lockdown from here? Depends on you. No one likes to be caged indoors.”
“Some are saying learn to live with the virus but how does one do that? By sitting at home? We are fighters. We don’t need the army to come in. Every citizen is a soldier,” he added.
Referring to the Sion Hospital incident, videos of which showed patients being treated next to dead bodies, Thackeray said no mismanagement will be tolerated. “If needed, medical facilities at the Central government institutions in Mumbai will be used for isolation centres,” he said.
Maharashtra’s Covid-19 tally touched 19,063 with 1,089 new cases on Friday, according to ANI. The state’s toll rose to 731.