The Maharashtra government, on Thursday, decided to use the SRPF (State Reserved Police Force) for enforcing the lockdown in Mumbai strictly. The reserved force would be used to maintain the lockdown more rigorously in congested areas, said State Health Minister Rajesh Tope.

Until Thursday evening, 1,346 persons are tested positive for the coronavirus in the State, out of which 746 are from the Mumbai region.

The decision to bring in SRPF was taken at the special cabinet meeting. The force is used as a backup by the State administration, and used in case of riots and other civil disturbances.

In selected pockets of Mumbai, the force has been kept on a standby mode. It has a large base in suburban Mumbai.

Tope, in an online address to the media, said that in the cabinet meeting, strategies for fighting the pandemic were discussed. Since more than 50 per cent of the patients are in Mumbai, the cabinet has decided to bring in more manpower and resources to the city.

CCTVs and drones would be used for keeping an eye on the roads and congested areas. In areas such as Dharavi (Asia’s largest slum), sanitation of the public toilets would be given top priority.

For cleaning these public toilets, which are used by large number of people, water tankers of the Mumbai Fire Brigade would be used, he said.

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