‘BMC preparing for 30,000 beds so that no one is deprived'

The second Covid wave, which began in March in Mumbai, hit more than double the people affected during the first wave in 2020. Now, as the third wave looms, the question uppermost on every Mumbaikar’s mind is whether it will dwarf the second wave or be benevolent in comparison.

BMC additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani is, however, not perturbed as the BMC “health infrastructure” is ready to tackle any emergency. He tells Malathy Iyer and Richa Pintoabout creating 30,000 beds for the third wave and setting up oxygen refilling plants to ensure the city’s hospitals don’t gasp for the life-saving gas. Excerpts:

Q: As per BMC’s projections, will the third wave be worse than the first two?

A:One cannot say with certainty about the third wave, but we believe it may not be as devastating as the second one. It may be somewhere in between the first and the third waves in terms of numbers. The only certainty is: the third wave will occur.

Q: The biggest fear on people’s minds is about availability of beds. The BMC managed to create 21,000 beds during the second wave, what about the third wave of Covid?