Delhi HC orders civic bodies to suspend biometric attendance to prevent COVID-19 spread

As Coronavirus cases continues to rise in the national capital, the Delhi High Court on Thursday directed municipal authorities to suspend the biometric system for marking attendance. The Court has also asked to maintain a record of the equipment given to the safai karamcharis (sanitation workers) who report for duty.

"On a perusal of the affidavits and the material placed on record, we are satisfied that adequate steps have been taken by the state and civic authorities to ensure the safety of the safai karamcharis. We have also perused the WHO Guidelines filed by the petitioner," said Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan while pronouncing the verdict.

"It has come on record that PPE Kits are being provided on a daily basis to the safai karamcharis required to enter the containment zones and these PPE kits are not reused. The affidavits also indicate that an adequate number of masks (surgical and N-95) and gloves are being provided to the safai karamcharis. The biomedical waste is also being disposed of in accordance with the mandate of the Pollution Control Board," the bench added.

READ | Coronavirus Live Update

The court passed above directions while disposing of the petition, filed by social activist Harnam Singh through advocate Mahmood Pracha, which sought directions for the safety of lakhs of sanitation workers who have been carrying out waste collection and disposal amidst the coronavirus crisis.

READ | '5.5 lakh cases, 80k beds by July 31': Sisodia's Delhi forecast as Kejriwal submits sample

BJP-led MCD vs AAP govt 

Delhi's BJP-ruled Municipal Corporations (MCD), have claimed that Delhi has witnessed over 2000 deaths due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), as per the MCD figures released by the mayors in a press conference on Thursday. The mayors of the three MCD- South, North, East have claimed that 1057, 975, and 42 deaths have occurred due to COVID-19 till date. As per Delhi government's bulletin, so far there have been only 984 deaths.

READ | Delhi civic-bodies claim '2000 COVID deaths till date', while state govt reports 984 dead

Delhi's Covid-19 cases

In an alarming increase, the national capital has seen 1877 new cases and 101 deaths on Thursday, marking its sharpest 1-day increase. Delhi has also seen 486 new recoveries, taking its recovered tally to 12,731 cases. The national capital's total cases now stand at 34,687 with 1085 fatalities.

READ | Delhi's COVID-19 death toll crosses 1000-mark; city sees sharpest rise with 1877 cases

(with PTI inputs)